


The Shadows || txt/enhypen

by Haohaocity



Category: ENHYPEN (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29503572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haohaocity/pseuds/Haohaocity
Summary: When 12 teenagers begin to wake up in a mansion in Nazi Germany one by one, and none of them remember who they are or how they got there, just that they have abilities that they can't quite figure out.(includes ships)Wattpad: @haohaocity
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun, Park Jongseong | Jay/Park Sunghoon/Shim Jaeyoon | Jake
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

He was all alone, kept under twenty-four-hour surveillance, old women with all-white eyes showing no iris or pupil constantly watching his every move. They would shove small pills into his mouth at every meal and locked him in a room that they referred to as the "Reflectorium" every morning and every night. This room was covered in green-tinted mirrors that were lined with cracks from where he tried to break free. His hands lined in cuts and bruises to prove it. Everywhere he looked in the room was his reflection, making him want to scream, but the last time he did they turned off the lights and the room became a glowy red and shadowy figures walked around him, haunting him. But they never touched him, they just stared with bright red eyes in the form of a cat, why they never touched him, was beyond his knowledge. 

They always called him "Ein" which he had to learn meant "one" in German, the old women with oddly shaped boney figures all spoke it. He hated being referred to as a number like some sick experiment so he named himself. He likes the name but he has no one to call him it. 

And he didn't remember anything before he woke up standing on a brown box with a clear plastic sheet draped over the top of him in the basement of the unknown mansion. The pure panic he still remembers so clearly. 

He had blurry vision and his knees shook when he took the sheet off him, stumbling off the long box with metal latches on it. He didn't recognize his hands or anything he was wearing, nor the voice he spoke with. He had tripped over his own feet when running around the foggy room, almost hitting one of the other eleven boxes, coming face to face with a small line of text painted on the splintering wood. 

fünf: Medizinisches Zimmer

The letters look weird, he didn't recognize them and didn't know how to read or even go about pronouncing them.

Each box had similar texts on them, and all were locked except for his. He had flipped the latch open and the top of the box creaked open by itself, revealing the inside which was lined in his reflection. He was looking at himself but he didn't recognize it one bit. He had small oriental eyes and high cheekbones that obviously belonged to him, but something about them just felt wrong and off. 

"That isn't me." He had said with fingers gliding across the glass before gasping at how his they dipped into the reflection and felt incredibly cold all of the sudden, causing him to immediately retract back. 

He stared at his hand like it was a weapon, it was shimmery with grey and almost glitching somehow, before hesitantly putting it back in. He felt icy crystals against his palm the farther it sank, and when he shoved the front of his head in it showed a completely different world filled with snow and sharp-edged boulders covered in ice. Snowflakes hit his lashes before sharp fingernails clawed his neck, yanking him back into the basement that started his new life filled with loneliness and a void of emotion.

And that's why today his foot made its way off the roof of the old mansion that he has grown to hate, sending his body falling from high in the sky. The wind cut his skin and made his hair extend back behind him. He was ready for it all to be over. The black-tie he was forced to wear over his white button-up shirt every day flapped against his neck.

The second he had shown up in this place he wanted to die. A numbing sensation always filled his heart, and nothing felt real. It was like he was in a fake reality simulation, or like he had been drugged. 

When he hit the ground nothing happened. He simply moved through it as it turned to a liquid mirror within the Reflectorium. His face and arms falling through the ripples of his reflections. He floated up out the other side and was met with the familiar glowing red shadows.

Again. 

Another day he attempted to leave. Just for it to be a false reality. 

"Ein you aren't making progress."

"I know."

"You can't enhance your abilities if you can't realize what the Reflectorium offers you."

"Ms. Bauer, it doesn't offer me anything."

"How can it not offer you anything when you are apart of it."

"You keep saying that but I still don't understand."

The white eyes opened and spilt down her face. The eyes opened down to her chin and up to her forehead. It was his least favourite part of the women who claim to be "helping him". 

"It's because you don't listen."

The eyes lurched forward and he fell back down through the ripples of the mirrored floor. 

This time he was surrounded by a green lush forest, crows yelling all around him as they circled his body. Shielding his face as he swatted at the birds that pecked and bit him. Their eyes looked just like the red cat-like ones of the shadows, and they had the voices of Ms. Bauer and Ms. Weber.

"Look!" They screamed and taunted. "Mirror! Mirror! Mirror!"

He clasped his hands over his ears and screamed, sounds of glass shattering bleed into him and the crows began to smudge and drip down onto the green grassing ground. Everything began to shake and boom, trees fell down on all around him and began to burn. He tried to run but his feet were stuck in the ground like he was trapped in quicksand. The more he moved the more the ground shook and the more panicked he got the further he sank. A large flame came hurdled towards him and his entire body sank intro the ground. 

He moved through the mirror again.

"Ein!"

"I'm sorry!"

"No, you're not! Back to your room now, you've disappointed the shadows."

Growls and shrieks of the shadows corsed all around him as her white eyes returned to their normal size, her pointy brown fingernails punchered into his bicep, erupting a cry from out him. This always happened, he constantly was doing it wrong. But he didn't even know what "it" was so he didn't know how he could stop the cuts in the form of present moons from her nails from appearing. 

He was thrown into the torn down wooden room covered in dust. It was dirty and hadn't been cleaned in what seemed like years, but it was his favourite place to be since no one shoved him down the pits of his own reflection or fed him artificial pills instead of food there. He was always alone in the room, he'd sit in silence on the dirty white mattress by the large window and read. All though all books in the room were about mirrors and reflections in some way, it still gave him peace. The room itself was usually so empty due to lack of furniture and size, but it had changed since the last time he saw it, which had been three days. Three days straight he spend in the reflectorium as punishment for trying escape through his window. Another mattress had been added next to his and it had a box of new books with the word "Zwei" on it. On the mattress without a frame was a blonde tan boy with almost neon blue eyes surrounded by a black ring and specks of white, wearing a replica of the outfit he himself wore, shoes and all. 

The boy screamed in terror when he landed on the floor after being thrown in.

"Ah! Who are you!?" He panicked, scrambling back. 

"Who are you?!"

"I asked first!"

"I don't know! I just woke up in the basement and the woman with the freaky eyes put me up here."

"Wait you don't know who you are?"

"No!!"

"I'm like you! They did the same to me! They threw me up here and then started taking me to the Reflectorium everyday without telling me how I got here or who I am."

"What's the Reflectorium?"

"Some room covered in mirrors. I hate it there."

"Why do they take you?"

"Something about my abilities... I don't know what they mean by that though."

He didn't. He assumed it had to do with the false realities behind the mirrors and how he would be so hypnotized by anything that had reflective materials. Seeing his lightly tanned skin and dark black shaggy hair parted down the middle mad him want to spend hours staring at the blurring image of the room in the glass window. He felt connected and both terrified by it.

"Abilities? They said I had those..."

"Really?"

"Yeah and they called me "Zwei", do you think that's my name?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's just two in German, they call me one."

"You still don't know your name? How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks... I think. I just picked a name after the third night. You can call me Heeseung yeah?"

"Heeseung? Okay. What should you call me?"

"You look like a Taehyun to me."

"Huh? What do I look like then?"

Heeseung took the boy and helped him up, and brought him to the window, showing him his reflection. 

"Why do my eyes look like that?"

"No idea."

"They are ugly." mumbled the boy who was now frowning. "But I guess I look like a Taehyun."

"Right?"

Suddenly Taehyun looked above Heeseung in the reflective window and let out another horrified blood curtailing scream, he turned around shuffled back by his hands that we're now on the floor and cowered in fear.

The other looked behind himself and saw nothing. 

"What's wrong?"

"You don't see him?"

"Who?"

Just the familiar empty room lined his sight. But Taehyun or "Zwei" saw a man propped up against the wall with bruises in the shape of hands against his neck. He whispered "helps" in a struggle for air before his body collapsed to the floor. The boy rushed and stood up, running to the body to help, Heeseung was more confused than ever at the evil smile on the women's face at the door frame who seemed to show you out of nowhere as Taehyun gasped and clutched invisible hands belonging to the body only he could see at his own neck. 

The old lady's crackling laugh tormented and swung around the room, echoing. Her eyes opened across her face just like Ms. Bauer's did whenever he was in the Reflectorium. She wheezed and coughed before hitting a small purple button on the device she had been holding, making all of Taehyun's veins glow electric blue before he screamed, falling to the floor, free from the hands of the dead man who had been strangling him.

"Welcome home Zwei. The Shadows will see you tomorrow in the Necropolis at 8:00 am sharp." She entranced in her weak withering voice of old age.

The teenager began to cry and twitch in pain in front of Heeseung. He coughed up splatters of blood in the color blue like his eyes that were sparking with zaps of electricity and his tears mixed in with the dust on the floor. His veins were still glowing shades of blues, but they were duller than the blinding flash given to him by the button. His throat was bruised and he scratched across his body with clenched fists. 

"It hurts." He whimpered. "Make it stop!"

Heeseung felt helpless. He had no idea what was happening. Just moments before had been the only male in the mansion, and now a boy was clutching onto his face in pain on the floor of his room, sparking with electric currents and jerking around in pain.

"Taehyun what's wrong?"

"He said it's my fault! He said the shadows don't like me! They want me to die just like he did!"

"Who is he?"

"The guy!"

"What guy?!?"

"The dead one!"

Chills wrung against Heeseung skin. 

He could see the dead.

"I- no, I think only you saw him."

"What?" 

The blonde's voice was hushed and filled with pain that was slowly diminishing along with the violent twitches. And only now did Heeseung realize that dots of white in his bright eyes had slightly expanded, making them more visible. 

"Well, they said we have abilities. It must be yours." 

"Oh.... Is that why there where dead flowers and skulls in that box in the basement?"

"...I suppose. My box had a mirror so I guess that's mine."

"A mirror? How is that an ability?"

"Well it kind of took me into a different... dimension... type thing?"

"How?"

"I have no idea, but that's what happens in the Reflectorium every day. I usually forget that I'm in the mirrors until I'm out of them though."

"Do you think I could go?"

"I don't think you would want too...."

"Why not?"

"The shadows watch you."

"Oh... Who are they exactly?"

"Well I've been trying to figure it out. But they only are visible when the lights are off."

"What do they look like then?"

"Terrifying."

Heeseung dreaded even thinking of them. They haunted his dreams very night since seeing them on the second day. They had incredibly long boney legs and skinny malnourished faces and moved like zombies. All of them were at least eight feet tall and would hunch over, long necks moving like a snakes body as they watched your every move. And it was almost as if they could control your mind somehow.

"Oh... Is it only us here?"

"Yeah."

"Will more come?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know much do you?"

"No, not really."


	2. Chapter 2

Heeseung gasped as Taehyun was pushed into their room, rolling on the floor. He was breathing heavily and looked as if he had just run a marathon. He hadn't seen him since Ms. Bauer took him to the "Necropolis" early in the morning two days ago. 

The boy had a dark navy blue vein running from his forearm down from his hand that potruded out and his hair was pointed in every which direction, he was covered in bruises. 

Heeseung hurriedly shut the book he was reading and stumbled to his body. 

"Taehyun! What happened?"

The male looked up and he saw he had a white rip-like splotch against his left eye. His face shook and he desperately began to grab onto the other and cry. He had experienced so much within two days and he just wanted to hold onto someone who he knew was truly alive and breathing. 

He remembers arriving at what the people in the mansion called the "Necropolis" and seeing a small wooden shack surrounded by hundreds of gravestones. He was led into the shack and was shoved onto a stiff mattress, hands chained to the wall before Ms. Buaer's eyes split open and she slammed the door shut, locking it. 

He tried to leave. He yanked at the chains that hurt his wrists, clattering metal sounds echoed across the shack, banged on the wall above the mattress and yelled for help. He stood on his tip-toes and looked out the medium-sized hole in the wall covered poorly by a singular nailed in wooden plank. His eyes shot up in fear at the number of people he saw standing by the gravestones, all pale and sickly looking, staring directly at him. He had jumped back and began to franticly try and break the chains again, heart beating out his chest as he slammed them against his legs and mattress, pain searing across him at every attempt. Tears of frustration and hysteria fell onto the dusting dirt floor covering in spider webs. 

Suddenly a bright light had poured through the hole in the wall and he scrunched his eyes shut.

"The shadows don't like it when you try and leave." A child-like voice said.

Taehyun whipped around and met a boy with a shaved head and a wide nose, wearing a striped jumpsuit with a set of numbers on it. The little boy smirked before the blonde began to wheeze and cough, air starting to sting his lungs. His nostrils burned at the gassy chemical smell that was smothering him and four more children appeared in front of him. 

"You're not Mommy." Whined the one girl among all the children. "Where is Mommy?"

He tried to speak, but it hurt to breathe, he covered his face with his arms, chains hitting his torso. His vision was turning colours and it was hard to see. Moments before he was about to pass out he gasped a dramatic breath at the sudden fresh air and lack of children. 

"Zwei!"

He caught his breath and collapsed onto his knees, recognizing the voice as Ms. Buaer. He felt dizzy and had a hard time looking up to see her since his head felt a thousand times heavier. 

"What?" He croaked in a weak voice that cracked at the end.

"You have to use your abilities!"

"What abilities?! Let me go home!"

"You don't have a home boy!" 

The clicking of a button buzzed in his ears and he felt the horrid head-splitting sensation from the night before again. Every last bit of his body burned hot, and it felt like spiders were running under his skin, and liquid molten running down his veins. Zaps of static pain colided into his lungs and he screamed. All he could hear was a high-pitched ringing, booming, and fizzing and all he saw was a bright white and the outline of every one of his veins turning bright blue. His back arched and his muscles tensed, fingers and toes locking into place, knees and elbows buckling. Each one of his bones felt like they were being shattered and snapped and the ringing got louder before it all dramatically left, leaving him aching at the numbing after-sensation. His eyesight seemed a little less focused than before. 

"Try again." Spoke to Ms. Buaer with a creaking slam and shake off the door.

He pushed himself upon his hands, chain trapped over his legs that were set at his side. The silence was so calming and he sighed. His body felt tingly and it felt like growing pains racked every part of him, but it was better than the electric shock of that horrid purple button. 

Within the silence, a woman in her mid thirty's sat in front of him. 

"What?" He asked nervously as she just stared at him. 

Her body was extremely skinny and her eyes had dark purple bags under them.

"I'm sorry." She voiced with a hand at his knee.

Her touch put an unbearable sense of hunger in his stomach. He felt weak and had no strength to move or talk to her. He lied back on the floor and stared at the wall, dreaming of all the different types of food he wished he could have. The woman raked her fingers through his hair and frowned. She began to tell him of a camp she lived in.

"Before I died these evil soldiers shaved my hair, they never fed me and would beat me until I worked as a slave in the camps. They rarely let me shower, and I had to watch my daughter die right in front of me... I am sorry but you must take some of our pain... we've lived with it for too long."

"It's okay." He whispered at the cold boney fingertips against his face. "I'm sorry too." 

She smiled sadly and faded away into dusty black and neon particles. Hunger left his body with the horrid purple button.

This repeated for what felt like weeks. But only was two days. He finally got to leave when he pushed one of the people from the graveyard that came to him to fill him in pain just like the others, screaming "Stop!".

Immediate guilt pushed against his consciousness when the feeling of harsh punches and slaps left his system and into the old man. A man wearing a military suit appeared above the elder and started to beat him. 

He had hollered for him to stop and to give the pain back to him but the man simply continued. Moments before seeing the light leave the eyes of the old ones he screamed "It's your fault!" in anger at Taehyun.

"Good work my Child, You've made progress." Praised Ms. Bauer. "You may leave now." 

Her eyes shrank and the chains on his bruised wrists vanished, and he soon was pushed onto the floor of his room. 

"They are in so much pain." He whimpered with his head on Heeseung chest, his hands rubbing his shoulders and hair. 

"Who are?"

"The people who've died."

Heeseung's gut wrenched and a bad feeling hit his throat, the boy on his chest closed his eyes and soft breaths left his mouth. He still shook and cried while he was sleeping in his hold. 

"I'm sorry Tae." He whispered into his hair, putting a chin on the crown of his head, tightly wrapping his arms around his bruised skin. 

He didn't wake up until the next day. Heeseung had been wandering around the mansion looking at the large paintings covering the ceilings and walls, some covered in drapes. Taehyun had given sad eyes to him behind a marble statue and mumbled an exhausted greeting.

"Do you have to go to the Reflectorium today?"

"I went this morning. Ms. Bauer said you go to Necropolis again next week."

"Really?" 

"Yeah..." 

Heeseung hated the look on the other's face. It was washed over in dread and disappointment. 

"What even happened?"

Taehyun sighed and walked over to sit against the wall covered in art, Heeseung following.

"They'd come into the shack I was in and I'd have to take on the pain of how they died. Then Ms. Bauer would come and tell me I didn't do it right and hit that button."

"The purple one?"

"Yeah."

Heeseung watched him in concern as he rubbed his bruised wrists. He thought the Reflectorium was bad but he couldn't even begin to fathom what the Necropolis was like. And he had only merely witnessed his ability in action for a minute or two after their first meeting, it seemed terrifying enough.

"Is there even a way to do it right?"

"Yeah.."

"Well, what is it?"

"I give the pain back to them. I watch how they die, then I get to leave."

"Are you serious?"

Taehyun nodded in complete guilt at the memory of the soldier beating the old man.

"I'm not doing it again."

"But then you can't leave."

"I'd rather that than making them suffering more than they already did... they all are from those camps ."

"...what camps?"

"The ones for the Jews."

"Oh."

Heeseung started to feel parental and protective towards Taehyun. He wanted to take away his pain and stop him from ever going back to the Necropolis. He took his head and pulled it till it rested on his shoulder. 

"I'll find a way out of here... I promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep."

"I'm not. I can do it, I'll get us both out of here and we can find a place to live together far away from here... How does Switzerland sound?"

"It sounds good." 

"We can live in a cottage and get a puppy or kitten together. I'll cook for you every day and we won't have to deal with stupid mirrors or dead people anymore, okay?"

"Okay." 

Heeseung grabbed Taehyuns hand and interlocked their fingers. They only had each other in the awful mansion. Or at least they thought.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and they looked up to see four of the old women running hurriedly towards the stairs leading towards the basement.

Taehyun lifted his head off of the shoulder it was resting on and confusingly looked at the woman.

"What's happening?"

Smoke boiled out of the bottom of the staircase and alarms started to sound loud, causing the two to cover their ears in pain. Beeping blared out of speakers and alarmed yells of unknown directions in German mixed against the whine of the siren. 

"Excuse me, what's happening?!?" Heeseung asked, pulling the hunched shoulder of one of the women.

Her eyes boor into his soul and her teeth shown yellow, she clawed his upper arms and held onto him.

"It's Drei! He's here early! You must leave to your room this instant!"

"But-"

"Go!" She hollered "And run!"

Heeseung nervously nodded and pulled Taehyun's arm to get him to stand up. The room filled with grey and they coughed, covering their mouths, running up the stairs towards their room.

"Who is Drei?!" Yelled Taehyyun, who was clutching on the stairwell of the twisting stairs. 

"I think it's three, C'mon!"

Yells and shouts of a male voice made them abruptly turn around, a dark figure could be seen through the smoke and a large flame hurdled towards them. 

"Shit! Go! Go!" 

Taehyun and Heeseung tripped over steps, cursing and fumbling over each other, and slammed the bedroom door behind them, sliding down the wood of it.

"What the fuck is this Drei guy's problem?!" exclaimed Taehyun. 

Their eyes widened when banging on the door shook their shoulders and back. They looked at each other in alarm and turned to push against it. 

"Let me in!" Boomed a demonic voice before a large metal bang and the sound of a body hitting the floor was heard.

Hesitantly Taehyun twisted the doorknob that was slightly warm and opened the door just wide enough to look through the crack with one neon eye. 

Laying in front of him was a ashy floor and a pack of white-eyed old women, one holding a frying pan. A Black haired boy laid on the ground, smoke bellowing put his ears. 

"Oh boys, meet Drei. He'll be staying with you from now on."

The two stared at each other in horror. 

"Oh don't worry, he's completely safe, as long as he wears these."

The woman slid on black metallic gloves and cuffed a metal bracelet around one of his wrists, then injected a serum into his arm, leaving a bright red and orange triangle against his forearm. 

"He'll wake up soon. Tell him he'll be in the cooler tomorrow for his out-lash." 

Two of the woman picked up his body and pushed past them into the room. They threw him onto a third mattress that magically appeared at a snapping of wrinkling fingers. And before leaving one pressed onto the sides of the metal bracelet, causing it to expand up his arm and latch around up bicep, his shoulder, then his neck.

"There. Now have a good day. Dinner is at seven. We are celebrating Zwei's accomplishments in the Necropolis."


	3. Chapter 3

England, 1940

The shattering of glass and the shaking of a ceiling surrounded two boys huddled in the corner of the breaking room. One of them winced at every crash and scream he heard from outside, the other rubbed his thumb across their intertwined hands, trying to tune out the whirling of planes above the city. Every time one flew past them they wondered if it would be the last thing they’d ever hear. And they had almost been correct if it hadn’t been for one’s ability. A particular boom had sent ringing into their ears and the ceiling began to crumble, close to collapsing. The one with dark hair enveloped one arm around them and put the other up above his head. Objects around the room began to burn and fly around before then all melted together within seconds, causing a hard rock substance to surround them in an orb as the ceiling came crashing down. 

"I'm sorry Jake." Cried the one causing the scene.

The said male yelled and whimpered as the hot rock burned his feet and back, his boyfriend trying to hold as much of his body away from it, blind to the heat that pushed out his hand onto the body.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry baby." He whispered into his hairline letting tears fall onto his head. 

Jake hissed at the burns across his body and trembled as the rock and ceiling melted away,l at the glowing of a hand, leaving them an opening in the moonlight. 

The older lifted him up and carried him above the ashes, bombs still falling out the sky around them, crying at how he had hurt him. Smoke and burned trash and stone-filled their noses. He stepped out of the chaos of their broken home and laid him upon a slab of cracked cement.

"It hurts." Jake sobbed, while the boy he loved cupped his face, looking guiltily at his burned clothing and skin. 

The left sleeve of his grey shirt had been singed and it revealed an irritated bloody shoulder. It hurt so bad that Jake could barely feel it. What was the most traumatizing the male who saved them, was the handprint marked on his waist from his hold, and the bubbling fingerprints on his neck. 

Berlin, 1941

"Sunghoon!! Stop! Don't take him!"

"He's dangerous!"

"No, he isn't you just don't understand! I can help him!

"No, you don't understand. You are mentally ill."

"Mentally ill for what?! Loving him?!"

"Yes! Your kind is sick! Send him to the camp!"

Sunghoon screamed in agony, struggling to move out the arms holding him back, hands cuffed behind him in a metallic substance. He tried to spark something out of his palms but nothing formed other than a few pathetic thin lines of smoke. He looked like a mad man as tears cascaded down his face like a waterfall and steamed off once they reached his chin and he flung his body helplessly back and forth, watching his lover being taken away and pushed into a vehicle by his scared neck and shoulder. The last thing he saw was the fingerprints from where he hurt him, vowing to never do it again. 

"Jake!! Don't take him there stop!"

"You won't need him where you are going."

Sunghoon felt a piercing sharp pain in the back of his neck and then he blackout.

Present-day, unknown location 

"Drei" lunged forward on his bed and screamed a gut-wrenching cry for a boy named "Jake", sweat was dripping down his face in the unfamiliar place, everything he saw was tinted in red tones. His arm clicked with robotic noises. The conversation he had been hearing in the background stopped and quiet swarmed every corner of the musty room, his head burned like he had hit something, and he saw two boys, one blonde with odd eyes, and one with black hair that covered his eyebrows, they both wore sleek black pants, white button-ups, and black ties. He looked down and saw himself wearing the same thing. Except everything about them was orangey-red and he had a hard time telling the hue of everything because of it.

The boy flew out of the bed and made a break for the door thinking of the love of his life within a camp. Heeseung and Taehyun ran towards him, trying to grab his body only to be burned by the touch of his skin. The boy's gloves shown red and steam buzzed off of his palms, loud beeping came from the metal covering him making him yelp at the burning sensation of the metal turning liquid-like reflective and clear, warming up his arm to his neck, stinging as it showed the irritated skin on him. His gloves returned to what he assumed to be black as he fell to the ground in response. 

He pulled at the hot metal mirror-like material around his neck and winced as it cooled down, returning to a solid non-clear form against his fingers.

He looked up and saw Heeseung collapsing to the floor from high up in the room where he had been floating, in a breath of air, entire body glowing and blinding both his and Taehyun with a colour he couldn't see in the odd way his eyes made everything seem red.

The moment the metal began to beep around the panic of the new “number” Heeseung felt his mind begin to swirl and he felt fuzzy. His sight had begun to become sparkly and he could see his reflection in everything around him, even the things that you weren’t supposed to. His own face stared back at him in every which direction, body radiating green like the tint of the Reflectorium. The wind swirled and Taehyun covered his eyes at the blinding sight as he was lifted off the ground, arms extended out.

"How-" 

Both "Drei" and Heeseung stared at their hands and up at each other in shock. Somehow Heeseung's abilities had turned the other's against him with the metal turning mirror-like. Heeseung didn't exactly know what he could do but it's like the heat of the new boy's hands forced him into using his so-called abilities. 

"I'm sorry?" Heeseung said in confusion.

"It’s fine?... Where am I?" he whispered cautiously.

"Good question.... you're not going to try and burn the place down again right?"

"What?"

The blacked haired one pointed his head towards the metal surrounding his arm. He was honestly trying to distract himself from what just happened. 

"You almost sizzled my hair off."

"What do mean?"

"I mean you threw a goddamn fireball at us."

"I did that? How?"

"You have abilities, he has abilities that are super cool apparently, I see dead people, we live with creepy old ladies, life sucks blah blah blah, now pick a name." Taehyun interrupted 

The boy's head went back to the terrible dreams he had of burning someone he loved and catching whole buildings of fire. It wasn't fake. It was a memory.

"Pick a name? I already have a name though?"

"Do you?"

"Yeah, Sunghoon." That's what Jake had called him.

"You remember yours?" Taehyun questioned, hesitantly stepping forward to look at the boy's neck.

"You don't?"

"No, we picked ours... do you remember anything else?"

"Not really, I only have memories revolving around some guy."

"Do you know who he is?"

"No, I just know that I loved him before I forgot him."

Sunghoon's mind played imagines of him hugging a boy with brown hair and a wide smile. His sight was all red but he saw him in full colour. He didn't know how they got to be like that, but he felt like home, the small kisses he left on his shoulder proved it. His heart twisted in emotion as the picture of him changed into him being dragged away from the boy by men in military gear.

The last thing he saw was the memory turning to a ringing sound and himself mouthing the name Jake. Then everything went black, it's where his memory both stopped and started. 

"We need to find him!" he panicked, sitting up from the ground and pushing the two away to walk between them.

Heeseung sighed, grasping his wrist, but quickly let go with a cry, his hand burned bright crimson and bubbling in a burn. It hurt worse than the first time. 

"Oh my God!" 

Taehyun took his hand and glared at Sunghoon. The skin on the other’s palm was slightly peely, but it somehow had the texture of shattered glass, and when he pocked at it crackling noises rubbed down his spine. 

"Whoever he is, he isn't here dumbass! We are the only ones!"

"W-what do you mean only ones?"

"We are alone! We can't leave! So don't fucking burn us!"

"I- I'm sorry I didn't mean to."

"Didn't mean to my ass."

"Tae chill, It was an accident. Let's just not touch him, okay?" Heeseung turned his head and spoke to the boy in a serious voice "listen, I know you miss whoever he was to you, but he isn't here and we are all we have, and that now includes you, so we can't go around hurting each other for the sake of a person who isn't here... we don't hurt you, you don't hurt us, then everything will be fine. I'm Heeseung, this Taehyun."

"Okay."

"I think we should set rules. Especially if more of us start coming."

"Good idea."

A feathered pen and dipped in ink met the surface of a worn-out paper in the back of a book belonging to Taehyun called “Death and Dying.” The three of them hunched over the list when it was time to eat dinner. 

The Number's rules  
1\. Don't use your abilities on each other   
2\. Don't try to escape unless the others know and are apart of it.  
3\. No judging for what goes on in other's set places (relfectorium, necropolis, cooler?)  
4\. Corporate with the white-eyes  
5\. Don't anger the shadows  
6\. Heeseung is in charge

"Why is Heeseung in charge?"

"He came first. He had to be here all by himself until we came. He didn't have someone to tell him what was happening here as we did."

Sunghoon nodded at the dinner table, trying to ignore the white-eyes staring them down, and the depiction of the shadows he was given for rule number five. The portions of food on his plate were small but flavorful. And Heeseung had mentioned how they usually fed him with a pill that stopped any hunger he had so he was thankful for what he had. 

Taehyun, who hadn't eaten in three days was shovelling food in his mouth, Heeseung poked around at his in thought.

"How come you can remember stuff but we can't?"

"Well, the stuff I remember isn't exactly pleasant so."

The older folded his arms and leaned back in curiosity. 

"How so?"

Sunghoon focused his thoughts on any drop of memory he could. There were snip-bits of being in a city being bombed with the boy who he was separated from. Him burning down buildings, and of course seeing Jake being sent to a camp.

"I- outside of here is horrifying. Bombs every week, death, fighting, propaganda, all of it. But I don't remember who I am other than I am a walking fireball that had a lover."

"Oh," Heeseung said in disappointment. 

The world outside the mansion wasn't good either. He was hoping that they were just apart of some silly experiment and that everything was all happy and bright the second you walked out the gates of the mansion. He had dreamed about eating ice-cream and travelling with a family that probably didn’t exist, and he fantasized about the cottage in Switzerland he promised Taehyun they’d live in. 

"Do you know how you ended up here?"

Sunghoon's face twisted in pain and sorrow, he played with the cup of rice on his plate and coughed to clear his throat. It felt like he had a rock in his throat and it was filled to the brim with emotional trauma. 

"They took me from the Jake and my fire thing wasn't working so I couldn’t stop them, they sent him to a camp."

Taehyun cringed, necropolis memories coming back. He thought of all the people who told him of a camp set up for Jewish people, and other's that the German government didn't approve of. He hoped with his entire being that this “Jake” figured that Sunghoon spoke of with so much adoration wasn’t one of the people who haunted reality within the graveyard and shack. 

"Do you know what camp?" He asked hoping what he thought wasn't true, for both his and Sunghoon’s sake.

"... I think it was for Jews? But they sent him there for loving me. So it could have been a different one." He mumbled sadly.

Taehyun met eyes with the other boy at the table. They both knew what this could mean. They had discussed all the camp stories while the other was knocked out. 

"What about what happens at the camps? Do you remember that?"

"I don't know." His eyebrows scrunched down in thought, frustrated at missing so many pieces of the story "I seemed upset about him going though..."

"I'm sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

Sunghoon shivered on the circular marble platform covered in snow, pillars reaching up to around him to hold a black ceiling with sharp icicles dripping down. The metal on his arm stung and bit his skin with how cold it had turned in the room. His surroundings were dimly lit and he could see piercing red eyes staring him down through the falling snow. His lips were blue and had small ice particles on top of them, his eyelashes blurred in white as they had been collecting frost, and his hair was wet and matted. And although his vision was permanently red he could tell how blue-tinted everything was. 

Dark creepy hands extended from the shadows from across the room's bodies, elongating with their necks, moving and travelling through the air in a snake-like way. 

Horrifying faces pushed into his and the slimy texture made his skin crawl. Black arms encircled his body and tugged on his neck. His hands and legs had been chained above him at the top and bottom of the white pillars, so he clenched down hard at the loops and cuffs, sealing his eyes shut. He could still see the crimson cat-like eyes glowing through his lids. And whisperings and screeches that weren't translatable left the Shadow's mouth's circling his head and making him whine in paranoia. It's like the shadows made you thousands of times more scared of everything, and it was like they dug into your mind, plucking out your deepest fears and insecurities to put them directly in front of you in the worst ways imaginable. 

A slithery pair of inhuman lips touched his ear, and a familiar voice made him yank at his restraints.

"Sunghoon."

The boy hollered and shot daggers at the terrifying shadowed figures all around him. He boor his teeth and started to scream at them.

"Where is he?!"

Haunting laughs and buzzes taunted him before the lips left his ear, and the face they belonged to shadow showed itself to him. The hollow cheeks and sharp fang-like teeth dripping in black morphed into a pale face of the boy he somehow knew he loved. The monster showed him screaming in a black and grey striped outfit as he was beaten with a bat by several older men in uniforms, then it changed him coughing and wheezing for air in a chamber filled to the brim with hundreds of others, all with shaved heads. Then it went back to black and the figure opened its mouth wide and growled directly in his face, black spit hitting his features. 

All the shadows then dropped through the floor and his chains evaporated into the snow, doors flying open. His head had hit the floor and his limbs tingled as the blood began to flow to them again. 

He was lifted by God knows who and carried into a different room on a tarp. 

He rolled and groaned as he met metal sheeted floors covered in moss, the shoes of Heeseung and Taehyun planted directly at his eyes. His face rubbed against the warm floor and he lazily looked up. The two were wearing outfits that were different than the usual dress shirt and tie. They had full white jumpsuits on that zipped down the middle with orange pockets at the chest labelled "Ein" and "Zwei"

"Here." Heeseung said, concerned and sad at the purple and blue tones on the shivering boy on the ground, as he laid down another suit, ushering him to put it on.

Sunghoon inhaled deeply and forced his limbs to move even though they were splintering in pins and needles. The two turned around and he undid his tie, unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled down the black pants, throwing them all to the side. And with the painfully cold hand he had, he started to zip the suit on, but he couldn't fit it over the metal on his shoulder. 

"Um... how do I?"

Heeseung looked behind him and the realization hit him. 

"Oh right.. they said I could take it off... somehow."

He stepped forward and awkwardly poked and moved around the metal, finally pressing down on the opening on his forearm showing the glowing triangle that was injected into him the day before, surprising him at how it didn't burn his skin

The entire object cracked and broke down into mirror shards and fell onto the floor, then it rearranged itself back into a tiny metal bracelet.

Sunghoon sighed in relief and lifted his now free arum, stretching it out and roll his shoulder with a groan.

"That thing is so restricting."

"I figured."

"Um.. guys??" Mumbled Taehyun while a slow rise of the hand and pointing of a finger. 

"What- oh my god."

They all stopped at the unfamiliar metal hexagon room shaking, twelve doors, two on each side slide up with the scream of metal against metal. 

Each showed a dark room, and some had prison-like bars caging them from the outside in. But all had numbers labelled above them. 

All three abruptly turned to the clicking of light above the first room. Inside showed dozens of clocks propped against mirrors, and shimmering crystalline lights in colourful rainbows, bouncing off the edges of the mirrors. 

Next, the second room sounded. A chair in a tube filled with thick neon blue liquid was wrapped and tied with zapping wires sat in the center of a dead garden and hanging moss. 

The third. A small tan Egyptian pyramid surrounded by fire sat on top of a dull green pond and was guarded by large sandy cat statues.

Followed the fourth. It was empty apart from a rectangular clear box on top of a circular table covered in radios and speakers.

Then the fifth. Bright lights and bulbs on the ceiling shown down on skeletons tied in red strings and vein-like lines next to spiking stones coming out the white tiled floor. 

Next the sixth. A lush room of trees that was so dense you couldn't see the end of it was revealed. Vines connected plants and branches, and mud looked like it was to seep out of it at any second.

The seventh was then shown. It was an aquarium carrying exotic fish and different creatures were revealed in place of a room. Tiny Clouds hovered above it and raindrops hit the water. The faint outline of a door was seen at the center.

The eighth was bright and blinding. Hundreds of brains (real or fake, they couldn't tell) were set upon black mantels and had metal sticking out of them that led to different machines and funky magical-looking jars of liquid. 

Then the ninth. It was hypnotizing and filled the room with an alluring aroma. It dazzled in sparkles and was painted in pinks and reds, with roses and daisies places against marble Greek statues. 

The tenth simply just looked like a portal into space, planets of different colours and rainbow galaxies shimmered in the three's eyes.

The eleventh radiated neons and look futuristic. Many contraptions and screens filled the room and different clocks painted with eyes and indigo spun on them.

Lastly the twelfth. The light never turned on but black fog moved out of the bars closing it. It was covered in dripping black and covered with frost. They could see hundreds upon millions of red glowing eyes staring at them from within it. As if the shadows were there.

"These are your battle rooms, my children." 

A cane hit the floor. A man with a weird-shaped head and crazy white hair in a medical outfit said. 

"What- who are you?"

"I'm your owner of course." He laughed and looked down at the clipboard of paper in his hands.

"Excuse me what?" Seethed Taehyun. 

"Calm down young one. It'll all be good in time."

"The hell you mean in time? I was just trapped inside a flipping Antarctic chamber for six hours." Hollered Sunghoon in anger, flames raising off his shoulders. 

"And I got gas chambered by like five-hundred dead people the other day!"

"And I can't ever tell what reality I am because the stupid mirror shit!

"I have my reasons." 

"What reasons?!"

Taehyun and Heeseung coughed, looking at Sunghoon were radiating smoked.

"You best learn how to control your heat before you talk to me like that." The man scolded, bringing the cane down with a harsh slam on the floor, sending water from the aquarium in the seventh room  
to travel up and splash onto him with a slap, extinguishing the flames. 

Water hitting his face pushed Sunghoon's brain into a memory of being on about, lightning striking and waves crashing. He grabbed Taehyun's shoulder who screeched at the scolding of his skin before he was sent into the memory. He saw a young version of Sunghoon running around the bottom layer of a ship and yelling for "Jake" moments before the said boy popping up out of nowhere covered in seawater.

"I'm fine Hoon, It's just a storm."

Taehyun's vision scrambled into bright colours and he was sent to seeing the male coughing in a gas chamber. The blonde panicked and felt the familiar gassy smell hit his lungs. He fell to his knees and hit his chest with his fist. 

"Jake! T-the c-ch-chambers!." He cried with one final blowing stinging into his lungs. "Jakes went. Killed h-him."

"Correct you are Zwei. But not everything is as it seems." the old man laughed, watching Sunghoon stumble down next to Taehyun and weep in a mourning manner. 

He laughed happily and placed hands on his hips. 

"Alrighty, you may now come on out Vier."

Chiming and raining of hundreds of sounds attempted to kill their eardrums as a frail tall boy with a slim upper lip shyly walked into the entrance of the room. He had pointed elf-like ears that were cuffed in metal like the one of Sunghoon's bracelet. 

"Hi.." he whispered, flinching at the sound of his own barely noticeable voice, and the bars of the fourth room breaking open


	5. Chapter 5

Vier had opened his eyes within the walls of the basement three months before Heeseung even showed up, due to the request of the number's owner "Dr. Nopek". He had to receive special training before being brought up to the room that three boys slept at. At least that's what he was told when the sheet was lifted off of his head by a wooden cane. 

His face met a man with eyes filled with insanity. 

"Hello Vier."

From that moment on he lived in the secret metal bunker underneath the basement. His room was fancy and he had food brought to him everyday by maids. Dr. Nopek said that he favoured him over the others.

"My wife died before she gave me children, you are now my child. You must call me father or you'll be punished," he spoke while pinching the tips of his pointed ears. 

Vier's new father treated him well as long as he listened. He never left the bunker, and he didn't know of sunlight. His days were filled with learning how to tamper with different speakers and radios for his Father's use. He slowly learned how to speak through them and sabotage "spies" trying to free his fellow numbers that he hadn't even met, in fear father's wrath. They were all still being collected. He could change sound waves with his thoughts, but if he used the ability too much his ears would bleed and he would lose control. That's when father got mad at him. He began to force him to wear metal cuffed that stopped him from using his power's when not necessary, but they made everything a thousand times louder than need be. He could tell the exact frequency of different voices and he heard cars driving down streets of busy cities hundred of miles away. It was hard to focus most of the time. Noises close to him sounded like screams and booms, even the tiny ants walking on the floor made his constant migraine worse.

"Father, can I take them off?" he whispered.

"Speak up."

"Can I take them off?" he said slightly louder.

"No, you'll be meeting Ein through Drei soon."

"Really?"

Vier had spent the last month watching the numbers interact with each other through a screen attached to one of his radios, he was told to memorize their movements and actions. 

It made him feel lonely most of the time, but he somewhat idolized them for naturally being able to use their abilities without any type of prior training from Father. He was slower than the others and needed special help as to not hurt them when meeting. He still didn't know how he could hurt them but he was always told to be careful when watching Ein, or Heeseung. He much preferred to call them by their chosen names than the number ones, and he was hoping for the day that they chose on for him. 

"Be careful Vier." Ms. Bauer spoke as he stood in front of Heeseung in his new room. 

"Why does he need to be careful?"

No answer. But the four of them quickly understood when the wrinkled hands clicked off the metal on his ears, revealing a scar from how tight it was. Vier out of habit started to scan the visible only to him sound waves in room, helping him get a better feel of his surroundings as they bounced off different objects. His ear twitch and his eyes focused in on one bright wave, accidently sending it forward. Usually the waves just hit things or passed through them but this one collided with Heeseung in a loud ringing.

Heeseung clenched his stomach and everyone witnessed his body ripple back and forth in front of them like a reflection in water before a splitting sounded. His body stilled as the wave seeped into him and a large crack in his face from cheek to cheek was visible. It was slightly opened and underneath it wasn't and blood or tissue, just the shimmer of a mirror.

"Vier!"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to!" He hurriedly apologized, stepping forward, Heeseung defensively stepping back with a hand touching the sharp edges of the crack.

"He's a mirror-being he'll break just like a cup at high frequencies! Has your father taught you nothing?!"

"I'm sorry Ma'am I'll do better next t-"

"Mirror Being?"

The ugly face of Ms. Bauer flashed in an emotion almost of panic.

"I've said too much... I must be going now. Everyonewill be going to their examination aread in the morning. Good day."

She then burst into black particles that seeped into the floor.

Vier cringed at the ugly coloured waves of the lady's voice and sighed.

"Look I'm sorry Heeseung. It was an accident, Fünf can fix it when he gets her."

"Fünf? How do you know my name?"

"Father showed you all before I came. And Fünf is the next number."

"Father?"

"The man in the bunker, remember?"

"How do you know that?- I- how long have you been here exactly?"

"Four months."

Gasps left the mouths of the boys.

"And you still haven't escaped?"

"Why would I escape..."

"Why wouldn't you?"

Vier never thought about that before. He never really questioned what was going on... but now that it's brought up, he did want to know what was outside. Hopefully, it was better.

Taehyun groaned as he stepped onto his bed.

"Trust me, if your examinations are anything like the Necropolis... you'll understand."

"Or the cooler."

View nooded, he never got to see what happened in those rooms, and whenever they talked of them the screen would blur and mute itself. But he did know of one thing... that he was certain they all didn't.

"Sunghoon... Number twelve is J-"

Suddenly a painful screaming high pitch hit his hearing. He paled and cried with hands over the point of his ears. A thin line across his throat appeared in black and red and all his veins turn the colour of Taehyun's eyes, who immediately recognized the boy's situation as being caused by the purple button. He clawed at his throat and gasped. When his veins began to dim he couldn't speak. His throat was dry and rough, no sound came out.

Taehyun cringed, watching, and did what he knew he could to help. He braced himself before touching Vier's neck, black lines travelled out his throat and into his hand, and he clenched his teeth at the familiarity of the button's electric shocks as the pain was transferred to him. 

"Taehyun what the hell?!" Heeseung cried when Taehyun leaned onto his hands, coughing up black liquid. 

"He was hurt," he whispered.

Taehyun had discovered his abilities to absorb the dead's pain wasn't limited to just those who have passed on when he bumbed into one of the White-eyes in a hallway and his upper back began to ache. He noticed how the woman's posture had suddenly improved and she walked straighter than all the other elderly women. He told Heeseung about it while Sunghoon was in the Cooler, or for better words showed him.

He had placed his palm on the shattered like burn he had from Sunghoon and he felt immediate relief. No marks were shown on Taehyun but his hand felt warm and tender, it stung a bit. 

"You didn't have too." Mumbled Soobin. " they do that to me a lot, I'm used to it. I have a tendency to say things that I shouldn't."

"No, no, it's fine. You've had to deal with all this mansion crap for way longer than any of us... Now what's your name? You real one."

"I don't have one... I was waiting for you all to pick." 

Sunghoon blinked hard. Imagination ran wild at the sentence, memories flooded in. 

"Soobinieeeeee" whispered Jake with a pile of food on a tray. 

Viet was found laying, tucked into bed with a puffed face and red nose.

"I made you breakfast in bed to make you feel better."

"Really? You didn't have to."

"What kind of younger brother would I be if I let you starve during a cold?"

Sunghoon opened his eyes again and he brimmed in tears. He abruptly whipped around, grabbed a blanket of his mattress and threw it over vier to hug him in a death grip without hurting him with burns. 

"Hello?" View asked, hesitantly hugging back.

"Soobin."

"What?"

"Your name is Soobin."

He backed up, letting the blanket fall. 

"You're Jake's brother."

The two had similar features, and auras. It was obvious.

"Oh.... is that a memory?" Taehyun ased from behind him.

"Yeah."

"Another one?"

"I guess..."

"How do you have so many and we don't?" whined Heeseung with a cute pout. "I wanna remember my significant other's brother too!"

Soobin scratched his head at the way Sunghoon shrugged, knowing the answer.

"Well he came early, someone betrayed Father and put him in early to fail his plan. I overheard him talking to Ms. Bauer about how it was a problem. They weren't done cutting his memory pathways in the medical area yet, that's why he almost burned the building down when he arrived.

Suddenly everything made sense. Sunghoon only remembered things when he was triggered or when he was dreaming, and the Shadows and white-eyes would get mad at him for bringing up Jake to the others so often. 

"Well... in that cause. Welcome to hell Soobin, hopefully you enjoy your stay more than we do." Chimmed Heeseung who rolled his eyes with a fake smile that immediately the White-eyes. "Now how do I get this giant crack off my face?" 

"Like I said... Fünf"


	6. Chapter 6

It had been three weeks since Soobin arrived. No other's showed or arrived and they all were getting painfully used to their surroundings. Taehyun was becoming a favourite among the White-eyes. He was the only one improving and developing his abilities correctly. After his second round at the Necropolis, he caved, sending pains back to the dead instead of absorbing, getting out much faster than the first time. And with every trip to the shack, his limits would break quicker and quicker until he'd leave within two hours. He hated himself for it too and thought that he was a cruel person and selfish for it. He could have held out longer. That's what he says to himself.

To make up for it, at night he'd stay awake until the other three boys fell asleep, and he'd rest his hands on each of their foreheads gently, absorbing their mental pains given to them from out the day.

Soobin's felt anxious and paranoid, somewhat insecure and dependent. Sunghoon's made him weep in a lung-crushing sadness know as grief. And what came from Heeseung was a numb wall that made him wish to throw himself off the window.

They all began to smile more throughout the day, and wouldn't be as affected by their examination areas, causing him to feel better about the things he did within the Necropolis.

However, once it reached the point that he began to "succeed" too well within the shack of the Necropolis, Ms. Buaer told him he'd be moving onto the next level. She took him to a room lost somewhere within the walls and twists of the Mansion. It was dark and shown with golden lamps, and a coffin filled with overflowing blue liquid was in the very center, lined with sparkly skulls detailed in precious Jewels.

"Go on." She said. 

"What?"

"Into the coffin."

"You don't expect me to-"

"I do."

Taehyun trudged forward, and what felt like cold hands and fingers brushed against his ankles. He looked down and the marble black floor was covered in water that had foggy hands reaching and grabbing to him, just to pass through his skin.

He shivered and continued, placing a foot inside the blue liquid. His leg turns ghostly white and zaps of light and electrical currents radiated off around his shin in the substance. 

He then looked back for reassurance and saw impatiences across Ms. Buaer. 

His back hit the back of the coffin and his face submerged under the blue, hands crossing above his chest as a mummy's would.

No one had seen him since the moment the last bit of his skin was under the neon liquid. And the new boy "Fünf" only got to hear stories about him when he arrived a month after. 

"Where did he go?"

"No idea... father said he something to do."

"Will you stop calling him that?"

"Well, he's the only family I've ever had to my knowledge." 

"What about Jake?"

"Jake is dead."

Silence filled the bunker. 

They all rubbed their sweaty foreheads and stretched their limbs. 

"Beomgyu can you help my arm? Sunghoon went a little too hard during our battle earlier."

"Yeah sure."

This was a regular occurrence. The hexagonal bunker filled with doors leading to the twelve rooms was a usual place for them recently. 

Dr. Nopek or "Father" would have them all stand outside the rooms assigned to their numbers and the floor would begin to glow in white sparks, showing a clock. Each boy was placed at a different hour and the hands would spin randomly, selecting two of them to vanish into pixel-like shapes into a place only visible to them, leaving the other two to sit and wait till they came back.

Sunghoon and Heeseung were selected today. 

Sunghoon always had the upper hand over him, despite having a complete lack of control against his powers. And it usually just took him to send a flame to circle Heeseung for the "battle" to be over. The older only knew how to somewhat fight against him when they were in a place with reflective objects. But this time they were located in a desert, Arabian building surrounded them and the sun beat against their skin. 

They both had looked around. 

"Ancient Arabia? Again? Are you joking me?" Complained Heeseung, already excepting his usual defeat. 

Over the weeks they learned that Soobin was incredibly smart and was always able to put things together in his mind that they couldn't. 

"It's a clock, right? And we are always sent to different cultural places? Father is sending us across time and space... it's obvious." He spoke, picking at his food that he had received instead of the usual pill for beating Jungwon on a particular day. 

"I can't reflect fire with sand!" 

"Let's just get it over with okay Seung?"

"Ok, fine. Hit me with it."

Sunghoon closed his eyes and breathed in, then he stomped onto the ground, making a flaming crack travelling across the ground and around Heeseung, isolating him.

"When did you learn that?" 

"The cooler." 

"You're improving?"

"I guess-"

All conversations were cut off by hot red liquid creepy up the crack in the ground and it bursting with sparks. Sunghoon had forgotten to control it.

"Shit!" He yelled and tried to calm it down, which he didn't know how to do so it just made it worse, sizzling off some skin on Heeseung's shoulder before they fumbled back into the Metal bunker.

Beomgyu always helped them when they got injured. Blood would trickle out his nose as he twisted his hand in front of his body, to rearrange nerves and pains to something that would feel better for them. 

Heeseung hissed as the burn across his shoulder morphed into one condensed cut down his arm., stitched by red stings made from burned flesh. 

"Does that work?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Mhm." 

This is what he did ever since arriving as number five.

Inside Beomgyu's head was millions upon millions of different texts and knowledge of medical information, he could look at someone and tell you exactly where everything in their body was located, what their blood type was, allergies, or even undiagnosed sicknesses or mental disorders. And he could snap his vision into that of an X-ray at any given moment. His skills were more tweaked and naturally controlled than the others were ever since he arrived, but within the "Medical room" he was forced to pick apart different bodies of odd creatures and find the worst ways possible to kill them. It was either that or Ms. Buaer would hit a purple button connecting to a metal plate that was implanted underneath the skin of his skull, that cause pain a thousand times worse than even imaginable.

Due to his vast knowledge he always thinking, he wanted to know things that didn't involve his abilities, especially since medical terms were all he remembered, he would often come up with conspiracy theories on how they wound up with their powers and how they came to be in the mansion. But recently one thing bothered him.

"Have you ever wondered how we all just happen to be Korean???"

"No, not really..."

"No, but that is weird."

"My point! How come everyone around is European and speaks German, but we don't. It's suspicious if you ask me."

"He's got a point." Stated Soobin. "It seems illogical for all of us to speak the language. I've been wondering it too actually.... but now that you mention it I actually speak German."

"What?!? And you never told us?"

"I didn't think it mattered."

"Didn't think it matters?!? Soobin! You could have been telling us what Dr. Nopek and the white-eyes have been saying for two months now! Dude!"

"My bad my bad."

Soobin succeeded in the areas of life involving complicated and advanced thinking, but he often lacked in common sense, which would leave the others baffled. 

"I think you need to get your brain checked out instead of your ears Hyung."

The boy glared and sent a tiny sound wave into Beomgyu who said the statement.

He shivered and his hair stuck up in statics where the metal within his skull was. 

"Stop doing that!" He laughed and patted his hair down.

The other three laughed with him and momentarily forgot the life they lived, a nostalgic feeling washed over them and they felt at peace. The rare experience made Sunghoon halt and the others stare as he gasped, eyes shut tight.

****Seoul, 2066****

Twelve boys sat around a meadow, some with heads laying on other's stomachs and laps, others leaning on shoulders, everything was so domestic and calming. They all laughed and giggled at a pink hair male telling a story. 

"No, I swear on my life! Jay tripped over his feet seeing her!"

"What would you do if you saw Aphrodite herself at your friend's house?! This isn't funny! His mom is freaking hot guys I swear!"

The blonde and tan boy pointed fingers at the stunning and sparkly skinned boy telling of the time he went over his house for the first time.

"It's not my fault she literally, and I mean LITERALLY a goddess."

"Hey, don't go simping over her... Yeonjun might actually set you up with her and you'll become his step-dad."

More laughter erupted and the blonde huffed. 

"Y'all are meannnnnn."

*****Present-day, unknown location*****

Sunghoon's eyes flew open again, and his fellow numbers surrounded him with worried faces.

"Are you okay?"

"You just completed zoned out for a good two minutes."

Sunghoon shook his head and ushered them away.

"I think I just saw the others."

"What others?"

"The other numbers... I think in a memory. There were twelve of us and you all were there, even Taehyun and Jake. There are twelve rooms so there must be twelve numbers right?"

"Jake died though, how could he be a number?"

"Maybe he isn't!"

He remembers how the male's arms were tightly surrounding his waist, and how his chin was placed on his forehead in the flashback, his body shaking every time he laughed against his back.

He stood up off the metal floor and frantically began to point at the pink room underneath the number nine carved against the metal above it, filled with Greek marble statues behind bars

"This must be Yeonjun's room see! That statue is of Aphrodite!" He then began to circle the room and look inside the rooms in a rush. 

"Yeonjun? Aphrodite? You're making no sense."

"No, listen! A guy named Jay said Aphrodite was the guy with pink hairs Mom! Who is Yeonjun! And look this room has Jay written in on it!"

The three stood up after curiosity filled them, Beomgyu peaked inside room nine and Soobin and Heeseung looked within the eleventh to see the writing that he was speaking off. 

"Um... that doesn't say, Jay..."

"Yes it does, look!"

"Sunghoon those are hieroglyphs..." Mumbled Soobin.

"No, they aren't! It literally is Korean what are you talking about?"

"Are you tripping or something? There is no Korean right there!"

"But-"

Beomgyu creased his forehead in thought, putting things together as he watched the three argue. His sight met the third room that belonged to Sunghoon, it was Egyptian-themed. Ideas dinged inside him.

"Wait.. no he's right."

"No, he's being crazy."

"Actually the exact opposite of that Heeseung." He said with a hand on his chin. "Think about this... Soobin can understand German... and he has Nazi radios in his room... I somehow know every medical term and my room is covered with skeletons showing the nerve and vein systems. He has an Egyptian pyramid and he sees those hieroglyphs as Korean. And I bet you can read the writings on those mirrors in your room too."

Heeseung quirked an eyebrow folded his arms, walking to his room. Tiny words he had never seen before were written in smudges against the reflections. But the problem was if looked like Korean to him.

"You can read it too though, it's in literally Korean."

"No, it's not, I saw it myself... I don't even know what language it is."

The others nodded, agreeing with Beomgyu. 

"He's right Hee."

"Yes, yes I am. And something is definitely going on here that we aren't aware of, and I am determined to figure it out... Sunghoon tell me every single last memory you have."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

As they sat back in a circle around in the bunker Ms. Buaer walked in, holding the arm of a young boy around the age of fourteen, whose legs were twisted in vines, with his hair decorated in leaves and flowers. He looked scared and lost, and he wore the white bottom-up and tie that only was to be worn outside of the bunker. His youthful face was covered in tears and his eyes were bloodshot and puffy. 

"Meet Sechs." 

His body was thrown next to them harshly and he quickly scurried back away from the white-eyed lady that made his arm bruise with such a tight grip, and away from the four boys. 

"W-who are y-you?! Where a-am I?" He squeaked in Japanese, which no one understood.

"Huh?" They all questioned. 

"Tell me where I am!" He sobbed.

"We don't- we don't know what you saying." 

The young boy frowned and shook out broken Korean words. "Am I where?"


	7. Chapter 7

******Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 1941******

Taehyun sipped at the black coffee that was all he was given every morning to eat for the past month. The flavour tasted off and it was extremely grainy and bitter. 

"I wish they'd at least give us decent coffee rather than whatever this is." The boy next to him complained. 

"At least they give us something."

"That's true."

Taehyun rubbed the extremely short stubby hair against his scalp with exhaustion, as he turned to the male beside him. 

"By the way, how do you know Korean?" 

"Oh I grew up in Seoul with my brother, I moved to England with my boyfriend before they separated us, he spoke it too. How do you?"

Taehyun knew exactly who the boy was. He was the spitting image of someone he saw in a memory given to him by Sunghoon. 

"Oh um... I don't really remember if I'm being honest."

"What do you mean?"

"I have some type of amnesia I think... I can't remember anything before the camp... I kind of just showed up here one day and people started shaving my head."

Partially true, partially not. He left out the parts about the mansion and stepping into a coffin that had him swirling into the back of a crowded vehicle with people he didn't know, just to be dropped off in a nearby camp.

"That sucks I'm sorry. I hope you remember your family soon."

Taehyun had been practically mute until more people got sent to the camp late last night. He didn't understand any of the yells of soldiers or the small talk given by his peers. But today this boy sat down next to him, speaking English, and he instantly recognized him., even with his shaved head. He had burn scars in the form of a hand on his neck that was almost identical to the ones his friend had described. 

"Do you know Korean?" he asked in his native tongue when he sat down. 

"Actually yes, I do."

"Ahh okay... I'm Taehyun then, sorry it's the only language I speak."

"It's fine, I'm Jake. How long have you been here?"

"A month or so." 

"Do you know why you're here? You don't appear Jewish-"

"I know Sunghoon." he interrupted.

"Wait what?"

"And Soobin."

Jake set down the coffee tin and shook his head. 

"No, no, no, no there is no way that's impossible."

"I can prove it."

"Fine... Be my guest."

"Soobin has pointed ears and abilities that make him be able to control sound waves, Sunghoon can control fire, he's the one who gave you that burn on your neck there too. You also have on on hour shoulder and stomach, along with your feet. 

"How do you-"

"I lived with them."

"I thought you said you don't remember anything?”

"Well yeah... where I am from or before meeting them is unknown to me. But I know where they took him."

"Really?! Where is he? We need to go get him!”

"A mansion, a terrible terrible mansion... Which I assume is somewhere in Germany in the future... At least that's my theory."

"The future? That's not physically possible unless he's with Jay." 

"Who's Jay?"

"I thought you would know since you know the other two with abilities."

"Well you don't know me and I have abilities too, so we are both in the dark. Plus you are supposedly dead in the time of the Mansion."

"Abilities? What are they? I'm dead?"

"Yeah, you died in the gas chamber. I can see dead people."

"Interesting. What's a gas chamber?"

"The place they'll probably send us when they are sick of seeing our faces."

"Can't we stop it from happening though if you are right about the whole time-travelling thing?"

"I guess. I mean I wasn't in the timeline before... But now I am, so I figure we could change it somehow."

"We need to... I can't die without seeing Soobin or Sunghoon again. They’ll hurt them.” 

"Ok... I think I might have a plan... but you have to trust me okay? And you have to tell me everything you know about your brother and boyfriend... And whoever this Jay guy is."

"Anything you want I'll do."

"Get talking then... Breakfast will be over soon you have to hurry."

"Okay, it all began when in Seoul. Basically, whole a rip between dimensions opened underneath a high school in 2061, it caused these weird quirks in reality to appear throughout different timelines and dimensions within Korean and small parts of Japan, and it affected Soobin’s Mom who happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time and it hurt her pregnancy. She died giving birth to him because of the abilities that he formed in the womb due to her being mixed between this dimension and the sound dimension during the third trimester. My dad remarried and had me, that's why I don’t have abilities like him. We only know of the rip in realities and why Soobin had his powers because of Jay, who is from the time dimension, he got kicked out of his reality during the ripping. And he can go wherever he pleases and said there were other’s like Soobin... he introduced us to Sunghoon who had been the closest person to the rip in the school, it sent him back in time to Ancient Egypt and he played around and made a deal with one of their God's on accident... which gave him his powers. That’s all I know... I haven't spoken with Jay since then and I assume he knows more than I do since he said he was trying to track down the source of the rip and those who were affected before the government did. I’m guessing you were one of those people.”

“I- wow... do you have any idea at all how the rip happened?”

“Jay said it started in the mirror dimension and that’s all he knew.”

“...oh my God Heeseung.”

“Who?”

****Present-day, unknown location***** 

"Over there, not over there." spoke Heeseung at "Sechs" in their bedroom now filled with six mattresses. 

"Sorry!" he yelled back, grabbing a box off of a shelf that had been added, and giving it to him.

"You sure you don’t want a name?" he said slowly, hoping he'd understand. "Even if Sunghoon said he knows it?

"Mhm."

“I mean it’s Ni-ki but whatever floats your boat kid.”

“Sunghoon be nice.”

“He tried to choke with vines like three times though!”

“It wasn’t his fault.”

“Yeah sure okay he just “accidentally” vined my throat then?”

“You literally burned his vines first! He doesn’t have control over them!”

“Oh, whatever!”

“Can you guys quiet down? My ears are bleeding again and I don’t want them to put the cuffs back on.” 

“Sorry.”

They sat in silence, ignoring the obvious elephant in the room that was the new boy when a shimmering met Heeseung's eyes and he put down the book in his hands to do a double-take. A small boy that was almost clear waved at him from the door. He looked like a younger version of himself. 

"Um... I'll be back."

Questioning eyes followed his every movement as he slowly stood up from his bed, simply letting him walk out of the old room without saying anything. 

The little boy's body swirled around and broke into a shiny sparkling orb, flying down the hallways, and he struggled to follow as it made sharp turns and twists across the mansion. It bounced up levels of stairs and circled his head a few times before falling into the floor and disappearing. 

He stood on the top floor of the mansion, in a towering attic. The room was sunny, as the whole ceiling was a glass window. He looked up at the sun through the glass and gasped. It seemed to expand and make the geometric ridges of the window fill with colour, filling the room in a rainbow of glowing hues. He spun around with a smile and free laughs as lights began to dance around him to create a sparkly rectangular mirror against the wall. He slowly walked forward, staring at himself in a trance. His reflection glowed green like when Sunghoon's metal "bracelet" turned liquid, and it hypnotized him. He moved a hand up the mirror, his reflection following and poked it, a small rippled moving across the surface, changing his appearance. His reflection then began to move when he didn't and smirked evilly and winked seconds before the ground underneath him opened up, sending him falling dozens of floors, all the way into the basement hovering in slow motion moments before slamming into the floor which was covered in scorch marks from Sunghoon's episode when first arriving.

He remembers the room from when he first got to the mansion, but now six boxes were opened and unlocked, he suddenly burst into shattering glass and the shards began to create shapes and tornados of light. The wind pushed him back to slide on his feet as they made a glass humanoid version of himself that mirrored every movement he made. All of it was clear and shiny except for its red eyes that look like shadow's. It lurched forward and the room glowed crimson, crashing into him. 

Heeseung's lungs filled with thick liquid and it felt like it was melting his lungs, but not painfully. The substance wrapped around his entire body like a hug before he found himself lunging up out of his bed breathing heavily. Sweat dripping down his body

He was confused because it definitely hadn't been a dream and he had just been in a completely different room. 

A wet ragged was laid on his forehead and Beomgyu leaned over him to push him back on the bed. Taehyun it was still gone. 

"What happened?"

"Ms. Bauer said you were in the basement... I was going to ask you that."

"Oh... where is Sunghoon?” He asked, taking in who was around him.”

"In the cooler."

"Wait isn't it suppose to be tomorrow that he goes there?”

"Heeseung you've been out for two weeks."

"What?!?"

"Yeah.”

"You're joking with me."

"No, you've literally been having seizures in your sleep like a crackhead and screaming about some guy named Jungwon."

"Who?"

"I don't know, you're the one that said it, not me." 

Heeseung sat up letting the rag fall, and looked around, he felt light-headed.

“Do you remember anything about Dimensions by any chance?”

“Um no... why?”

“You mumbled about some rip between some. And about it's all your fault.’’ And “Oh my god, Jake don’t do it” and so on.”

“You think I was just dreaming?”

“I mean it seemed like you were remembering things, but it’s obviously not the cause. Unless you still know things within the subconscious part of your brain.”

“I guess... how’s Sechs doing?”

“He keeps screaming at Sunghoon in Japanese... but he’s finally okay with us calling him Ni-ki.”

“That's good I guess.”

“Yeah... please don’t leave again... it’s not as fun when you aren’t here.”

“How is it ever fun?”

“I dunno. It’s just you make every less worried and calm. You keep things peaceful.”

“Thanks, Gyu.”


	8. Chapter 8

The five boys currently in the mansion had been waken up in the middle of the night by Ms. Bauer.

“Quickly, Dr. Nopek has left you must hurry.” She rushed, grabbing and ushering each out of their beds.

All of them were beyond confused. The woman’s eyes weren’t white as they usually appeared to be, and she looked younger and less creepy than usual. The now seafoam green orbs showed empathy and a motherly exterior. But they knew it was her by her voice and the outfit she always wore, but the normal ugly face she wore was now smoothed out and sparkly, beautiful in a way. They all felt completely hypnotized. Something about how she was looking pulled them in and they followed blindly in a trance down the corridors of the mansion lined with paintings. 

“Ms. Bauer how-” 

“Shhh... We must be quiet” she hushed, stopping in front of a painting that showed a glowing woman draped in Greek robes and golden flowing hair. 

Ms. Bauer bent down and held her hand under the bronze framing of the artwork, pulling it back to reveal a pathway of a long dark staircase. 

The numbers hesitantly stepped into the entrance, walking down the steps that were spiral-like. The further they went the lighter space got and the warmer it felt and the more it spelt like flowers.

“I’m not Ms. Bauer you know of.” The woman voiced as her foot landed on the last step that was covered in flowers and was in front of a white marble door. 

“What do you mean?” asked Beomgyu, trying to figure out what was going on.

“My son was taken from me and I’ve been tracking him down ever since. When I found him it was too late and he was assigned a number and his memories of me were striped. I had to pose as a white-eye and get close to Dr. Nopek and be cruel to you all to have a chance in getting him back. Now that he’s gone to talk to number twelve, I can reveal myself. I’m sorry for my appearance, the mansion and disguise have taken a toll on me. “

“Your son? You’re saying one of us is your son?”

“No, of course not. He hasn’t shown up yet. He is number nine.”

“What do y-”

“You can’t be his Mom that’s Aphrodite. I saw it in memory, nine said it himself. She’s trying to trick us. None of us are buying this Bauer, you’re trying to fuck with our heads more than you already have.” Sunghoon hissed. 

“Ah I was afraid you would remember that part, that’s why I brought you here... to prove it.”

Everyone turned to Sunghoon, waiting for approval, and he simply stuck his arm covered in metal towards Heeseung. 

“Take it off.”

“What? I can’t we aren’t in the bunker. You could burn the pla-“

“I said take it off!”

Heeseung jumped and handled the arm, pressing the glowing triangle on his skin to make the device shatter off and reform on the floor.

Sunghoom picked it up and shoved it in his pocket before muttering an “If she’s telling the truth she won’t have to worry about getting burned to tell because she’ll be immortal.”

His eyes glared at the Woman they all knew as Ms. Bauer if she was lying. 

“Go on then. Prove it.”

She nodded and opened the door. Behind it was an extravagant room with white and gold pillars covering in Jems. There was a circle of chairs and they saw a different person in each one who exuded authority and power. Beomgyu instantly recognized them as the main Greek Gods and Goddess and he sank to the floor in a bowing, others following.

“Get up.” Boomed a loud voice and they all scurried back onto their feet. 

The man whose voice belonged to a man dressed in expensive fancy rob, his hair was long and a white colour that matched his beard, he held a lightning bolt. He was intimidating and serious as he pointed to another God. 

“Beomgyu, come here.” The smooth voice of the one pointed at the spoke.

The said boy looked at the others in confusion and nervously walked forward. He was trying to contemplate that a God was speaking to him and asking him to come forward, and none of the others were.

“I’ve missed you.” 

“Huh?”

“I gave you your abilities. Have you forgot growing up here?”

“I- u-uh don’t remember anything.”

“Ah yes... that’s right. I’m Apollo. You were my apprentice before the mansion and ripping.”

“What ripping?”

“I assume you’ll figure it out when Zwei comes back.” 

“Taehyun? He’s been missing though?”

“Yes, we know. Aphrodite sent him to fix the mistakes of the past, and hopefully stop the twelfth from making a decision that could ruin his very essence.”

“Who’s twelve?”

“Hopefully you’ll never find out and it goes back to just the eleven of you. But it seems Dr. Nopek is a step ahead of our efforts.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay, you will soon.”

Beomgyu turned around and saw the other’s staring widely at him and around the room in wonder. They looked dull compared to the gods and the room. 

“Now go back to your Mother in law dear... she has something for you.”

His brain hurt at the statement and he almost asked Apollo what he meant before Aphrodite slowly walked towards him and cupped his face, within the time they travelled through the path in the painting and his conversation with God, she started to glow and form to look more and more beautiful and less like “Mrs. Bauer”. She was almost unrecognizable now. 

He felt tingling lips hit his forehead and warm hands hold his.

“Take care of my son when he gets to the mansion. I’ve done all I can and I’m afraid Dr. Nopek has caught on, so I can’t go back. Make sure he’s safe.”

“Ms. Bauer, what are you talking about?”

“Call me Mom, I told you that at you and Yeonjun’s wedding, it still applies now even if you don’t remember it.”

“Yeonjun?”

“He’s number nine.” Spoke Sunghoon in awe. “I think you are married to a demi-god Gyu 

“What?!”

Beomgyu shook with surprise and nearly screamed as Aphrodite slipped a silver and pink rink onto his ring finger and hugged him.

“Bring my Son back.”

“Ofc-course, yes I w-will” 

The room then fell in crumbles and pixels and all the boys were in their rooms again. Beomgyu stared at the ring around his finger. Just moments before he didn’t remember any part of himself outside of the name that Sunghoon told him he had, but now he knew he was married to the son of a powerful goddess. And he knew it was true by the way his heart clenched and he started to sob at how the ring felt against his hand. It was like it was meant to be there and he knew that it meant something to him. He missed it... and he didn’t even know the person who gave it to him.

Surprisingly Ni-ki was the first to wrap his arms around him and whisper reassuring words in broken Korean. Then Soobin and Heeseung. Sunghoon stood off on the sidelines feeling terrible about how he couldn’t join because of them knowing that he would burn them all. But he started to cry too.

“He’ll come back okay? You’ll see him soon. And cherish him, love him as much you can.” He said, crouching in front of him.

Beomgyu knew he understood his situation. He had heard from Heeseung about Jake and he would often wake up in the middle of the night to Sunghoon crying his sleep, calling out for him. He knew he was most likely dead, or at least not here so he felt how the other was grieving with him.

“I will... I will for the both of us.”

“T-thank you.”

At that moment Beomgyu didn’t care, he leaned forward without thinking and he wrapped his crying body around him. But as everyone expected to happen with the gasps that filled the room, no burn was made on his skin. And then Sunghoon crumbled within his arms, letting out everything he had been holding onto. And the vision he had that was always tinted red shown in all colours as he looked at Beomgyu. Just like Jake did in his memories. 

“What does he look like?” Whispered Beomgyu as they sat at the window seal, dark in the night later the next day while everyone else was at their examination rooms.

“Beautiful. He has pink hair and sparkling skin. You would really like him... Obviously.”

“You think he’ll come soon?”

“Only three more numbers and he’s here.”

“...I’m sorry you can’t see Jake.”

“It’s okay. I think he might be twelve, but it doesn't make sense since he’s supposedly dead. And it’s like the Gods were trying to stop twelve from coming anyways so I guess I will most likely never see him again.”

Beomgyu felt bad. He had only experience missing someone be loved for such a short time, but the third number has had to deal with it for a few months now, on top of memories and the fact that he isn’t alive anymore.

They sat staring at the stars, sadness filled the air and then sighed together, before hearing a loud bang from behind them in the room that was supposed to be empty. 

They saw one of the White-eyes (if it was even truly one. If Ms. Bauer was fake, maybe they all could be.) drop a boy on the ground. He had tint scales on the side of his face and his fingers were slightly webbed. His brown hair framed his face and he looked up in terror. He appeared to be more than just Korean, as he had some western features. Sunghoon recognized him from the memory he had of twelve boys in a meadow. But he was so used to the sight of new numbers coming that he sighed and turned back to Beomgyu.

“Guess it’s only two more numbers now... Hey Sieben.”

“W-Who’s Sieben?” Asked the boy in fear and confusion

“You.”

The boy sat up off the floor and he coughed. His thought was dry and his lips were chapped.

“Do you have any water?”

Beomgyu thought back to the seventh room in the bunker and he remembered how it was filled with a tank of water like a large aquarium. He’s pretty sure he already knew what this boy’s ability was.

“Probably not as much as you want. But yeah, we have some.”


	9. Chapter 9

****Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 1941****

A man wearing a medical coat and standing up by a can stood in front of Jake and Taehyun.

Just moments before they had been taken out of the area they were labouring in by soldiers. They had been talking about how they planned to escape the camp before Jake died in a Gas chamber just like everyone knew he was supposed to. They both thought that the time had already come as they were led into what seemed to be a chamber. But of course, they were confused as they were the only two being taken. 

The soldiers pushed them into the chamber and sealed the door shut, protecting it from the outside with guns. 

They both gasped at the two men sitting in chairs at the center of the empty chamber. Both for different reasons. Jake felt his blood run cold at the man with a weirdly shaped mustache in a suit with a nazi symbol of the pocket. Taehyun shook at the sight of the man with a cane that he had seen in the Bunker of the Mansion filled with his friends and white-eyes, not even noticing the political figure next to him.

"Zwei, I knew you'd be here, tell me which one of my lovely maids sent you here without my permission."

"Huh? Ms. Bauer said the coffin was the next level of your plan for me."

"Ms. Bauer you said? You mean to tell me my most trusted has been the one betraying me?"

Taehyun stood still, not knowing the answer and looked at Jake who was a ghostly white colour.

"What? What's wrong you don't know him do you?" he asked the boy.

"No, never seen him. It's him I'm worried about." Jake whispered pointing to the other man. "He started the war."

"Hitler?"

"Yes, don't you recognize him?" 

"No, I can't remember anything?"

"Right." Jake then nervously spoke in German to the man, which Taehyun had recently learned he knew in the past three weeks at camp together, Soobin had taught him before he mysteriously disappeared a year ago.

Taehyun watched as the two conversed. The man's words were harsh and his friend looked confused and both angry before he started to yell at the German.

He quickly butted in and put a hand over the striped outfit he wore.

"Hey, what is he saying?"

"He says the war is just a cover-up for this other guy's plan for you and the numbers. He doesn't hate Jews, he just needed something to distract the rest of the world from what the German government is doing."

"What?!?"

"Correct." Dr nopek snarled. "It's a sacrifice he had to make." 

"Sacrifice? Killing millions of people for some dumb plan?!?"

"Yes... and our little Jake here will have to make his own sacrifice."

"What are you talking about?" the mentioned spoke in alarm.

"Only if you don't want to die here in this very chamber again, or never see your lover and brother, ever again."

"What would I have to do?"

"Jake doesn't trust him, he's evil."

"No, I need to hear what he says."

"Smart you are Jake. I'll exchange your life for the place of letting one of my pets use your body whenever it pleases."

"Pets?"

"My shadows."

"No! Don't-"

Taehyun's body was flung back against the wall of the chamber by the hitting of a cane on the floor and a black dripping rope appeared around his hands, legs, and mouth, stopping his words.

"What?"

"Zwei isn't even meant to be here. Don't let him tamper with your decision boy."

"But- what are these shadows?"

"All you need to know is that if you agree you'll save your precious Sunghoon."

The cane hit the floor again and a holographic screen raised from the watch on Adolf's wrist. 

In front of Jake's eyes, he saw the boy he loved held by chains against white pillars in a cold snowing room, crying in the pain of black ice crystals running up his legs.

"What are you doing to him?!" Jake screamed, lunging forward, but was stopped by an invisible force that held his hands and feet back.

"Nothing if you agree to my deal."

Taehyun began to thrash around in the background and scream incoherent words through the rope.

Jake looked back and forth in a panic between his friend and the two men.

"And don't forget little Soobin." Hitler pouted teasingly clicking a button on the watch that split the screen in two.

The new side showed Soobin twitching inside a glass box, veins glowing and a black line growing tighter and tighter across his neck, making him claw at his throat trying to breathe.

"Times ticking," smirked Dr. Nopek as the ice on Sunghoon climbed higher and higher. 

"I'll do it just stop!" shouted Jake, tears falling out his eyes. 

A pained scream came out Taehyun and Jake looked back to see him shaking his head in disagreeing. But he didn't care because the screen suddenly showed the ice melt off Sunghoon and the black around Soob's neck broke off and he coughed from the rush of air flooding into his lungs

The room began to spin and shake underneath their feet. Black smoke filled the room and then Taehyun burst up from the blue liquid of the coffin to see Mrs. Weber, one of the white-eyes.

He yelled in pain as her pointing fingernails dug against his side, he looked down at his body and he was still wearing the camp uniform, his body still incredibly skinny from lack of food, and his hair still gone. 

The next thing he knew he was flung against the floor of the metal bunker and everyone jumped and ran to him.

"Taehyun oh my God!"

"What you are Taehyun?"

"Where have you been?!?"

"What happened?!"

"Are you okay?!"

"Where is your hair?!"

"What are you wearing?!"

"Why are you so skinny?!"

All he did was roll in a ball and sob at the sight of six other boys, three he didn't recognize. He wailed and gasped for breath and began to shout apologies.

"Tae what are you sorry for?" voiced Heeseung, who was trying to hug his body and get him to breathe.

"Jake." 

And that's all he said before a clicking sound filled the bunker and his body lit up in blue veins and pain. His body tensed and his muscles spasms. It was the worst pain he had ever experienced for the button and he felt like he was about to die. 

Among his screams of pain he gripped onto Sunghoon's arm, ignoring the stinging and burning sensation as he tried to get him to let go in a panic.

"I tried to stop him I swear! I'm sorry Sunghoon! I'm sorry!!"

"I don't know what you are talking about! Let go! You're going to brun your hand off!"

Beomgyu then intervened and put one hand with a ring on a finger around the wrist of Taehyum, and the other against Sunghoon's to rip them apart.

"Are you stupid?! This is going to take weeks to heal even with my abilities!" he screamed while pushed the hand at Taehyun's face.

His hand was sizzled and outlines of white bones were present, it was bleeding and his fingers were odd shapes. 

Taehyun felt nausea creep up on him before his head hit the floor in a loud bang as he passed out.

"Jesus... I thought you guys said he was smart."

Sunghoon looked in horror at the site and whispered in agony a "what did he try and stop Jake from doing?"

Everyone looked around and chills run down Heeseungs back. 

"The better question is how did he see him in the first place if he's dead?"

None of them received answers because when he finally woke up a week later he was in a complete state of confusion.

"Who are you?" he asked Sieben.

"Kai... They call me Hyuka though."

"Then who are you?" he pointed to Beomgyu.

"Beomgyu, I came right after you left... And that's Ni-ki?"

"Oh... When did you come then? Soobin just came yesterday?"

"What? No, he came like three months ago."

Everyone scoffed in disbelief.

"They really fucking wiped his memory again, I actually hate it here." Groaned Sunghoon.

Heeseung rubbed his forehead in stress and sat down the next to Taehyun, picking up his wrapped hand.

We'll fill you in okay? You've missed a lot."

"Yeah like Greek Gods type of a lot."

"Greek Gods?"

"Mrs. Bauer is Aphrodite, number nine is her son and he's married to Beomgyu who was Apollo's apprentice somehow, you somehow met Jake and tried to stop him from doing something because she sent you back to stop some timeline or something I dunno."

"What?"

"Listen, I'm confused as you are still."

Beomgyu then gasped and started hitting Ni-ki in realization.

"Oh my God! Jake is twelve, Sung you're right!"

"What?"

"Ms. Bauer/Aphrodite said that she sent Taehyun back to stop twelve from doing something, and when he woke up he mentioned Jake and how he "tried to stop him", Jake is twelve!"

"Oh my God... My brain hurts."

"W-wait so he isn't dead?" said Sunghoon with hope evident within him."

"I don't know Hoon... We'll have to wait and see who twelve is."

"Okay."

Taehyun's head felt like it was splitting in two with confusion, but he just pushed it to the side.

****Present-day, The Mansion, unknown room**** 

Black smoke and liquid ran into Jake's lungs and he gasped. Glowing eyes of shadows surrounded him and he cried in agony as he felt apart of himself leave.

"Welcome home zwölf. The shadows thank you."

Jake looked down at his fingers and they were ombre black from the tips. 

"What did you do?"

"Make you the most important number."

"Huh?"

"I'll see you in three months." 

Dr. Nopek's cane hit the floor and the room filled with the screeches and laughs of the Shadows, some leaving Jake's throat and he felt his vocal cords being controlled by something other than him. His mind then went blank and he fell into a deep coma-like sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

It was another examination day. Ms. Weber, a white-eye took them each one by one in chronological order. 

Heeseung was taken first. He followed her into the reflectorium and was met with a shove into the floor. Underneath the ripples was a sparkling city covered in rainbow light and mirrors, it felt like home but something was off. He watched as the castles and houses made of glass shattered in a giant explosion. He saw his younger self at the center of it.

Next was Taehyun. He sat in the necropolis for barely thirty minutes, only meeting three dead people before his weak body gave up and pushed the pain back towards them, crying to go back to his room. 

Then was a Sunghoon. He however wasn't brought into the cooler as he usually was, he was brought into a black room with a tan pyramid on liquid. It was like a bigger version of his room in the bunker, except there was a pathway leading to the pyramid and hundreds of people surrounding him with candles. And he'd rather not talk about what happened within the wallsof that room, he hadn't spoken to the others since, afraid to even speak after what he experienced.

Then Soobin. He sat cross-legged inside a glass box that the white eye called the "ClatterBox". He was losing his mind in boredom. He was supposed to find a way out without breaking the box but it seemed impossible to him. He stayed in it for hours until he accidentally shattered the thick glass with a sound wave, causing him to be scolded and not allowed to attend dinner. 

Beomgyu was next up. He was brought to the medical room and a boy he didn't recognize laid on the table in the corner. He was surprised because only animals had been on the table before, and he was not looking forward to what it meant. The white-eyes always made him kill whatever was on the surgery table. He whispered a desperate "no, don't make me do this." at the old woman next to him as she shook her head.

"You have a different task today." 

Beomgyu shoulders relaxed. H was extremely realized he wouldn't have to kill an innocent person today, he could barely handle using his powers for something so horrid on an animal, much less a person. 

The boy on the table had brown shaved hair, and his fingers were ombre with black, fading from the tips. He was skinny and he had burns on different parts of his body. Some were in the form of handprints and it reminded him of the one on his leg from battled Sunghoon in bunker last week. 

"What am I suppose to do?"

"Cut his memory path."

"W-what? Can't you do that?"

"It takes us days and it takes you seconds."

"And if I don't do it?"

"The button."

"Shit."

Beomgyu didn't want to screw with this boy's memory, he knew how much it sucked to not remember who you are or where you came from. But he hated the button with every fiber of his being. 

He went to stand on the side of the table he laid on. His legs were covered in a medical blanket and his torso was void of clothing, Beomgyu could see his ribs and light bruises on him next to the burn marks. He pushed down any connection he felt to the boy and tried to forget that he probably had a family who cared about him from wherever he came from and scanned his body with the part of his brain that had abilities. 

Something was off though. His bones and nerves weren't like the typical humans were. They were lined with black smoke, and part of of his brain seemed to be decaying and covered in the same smoke.

"What happened to him?"

"He's been gifted."

"With what?"

"You're smart. I assume you'll figure it out."

Beomgyu nodded.

"And I have to do this?"

"Yes, it's important to the plan"

He sighed again and stuck his hand out, twisting a part of the boy's brain that dealt with memories. A snapping and tearing hit him and he knew it was over. He wiped the nose that was trickling with the blood that came with his abilities and frowned, whispering "sorry" to the boy who was unaware of what he just had happened to him.

"Good. Now go get Sechs." 

"Yes, Ma'am." 

Ni-ki had only been to his examination area a few times since arriving, but he definitely knew he didn't enjoy it. It was called the "Gardenbow". It didn't cause him to pain emotionally or physically as the others did, but he still didn't enjoy it. He'd be chained to the ground in a room filled in sand. It was extremely hot and the sun beat down on him. The vines that were connected to his legs at all times withered and it was uncomfortable. The flowers messed in with his hair sank down in his locks to hide from the rays. He never stayed in the Gardenbow for long though since he was quite aware of what he could do, but the action exhausted him and made him feel like he was going to pass out. He would clench all the muscles in his body and vines and branches would in a painfully slow way grow from the cracked dried dirt below him until they covered his body in a shelter away from the sun. Then he'd pant as he released his tensed muscles and be able to go back to his room.

Number seven aka Kai/Hyuka/Sieben had never been to his place before. But he was placed in the "Aquaticbec", a giant black tank filled in crystal-like water. He had immediately sunk to the bottom and his feet and legs began to scale and form together in a tail. His hair floated above him and he screamed underneath the water, quickly coming to the realization he could breathe within it without any source of oxygen. A cover was placed over the tank and he sat trapped within it. He swam in circles for hours longer than everyone else had been in their area, no knowing what he was meant to do. His limbs hurt from swimming so much and he had finally let himself fall asleep at the base of the tank. 

Upon waking up he was pulled out of the water and his tail began to split in two. It was extremely painful and he screamed the entire way through. Two giant rip-like cuts were against the whole inside of his legs and he couldn't walk, leaving him to be dragged by his arms to his room. 

All the other boys had to help him move around for the rest of the day, even with Beomgyu healing him. His limbs felt like jelly and his head still felt like he was underneath water, so did his hearing. 

"Sunghoon can you pleeaaassse just talk to us." asked Heeseung at the dinner table, which Kai and Soobin were absent from because of their "fails". 

The boy shook his head, refusing with trauma-filled eyes. 

"Can you at least say what happened to you today in the cooler?"

And even more dramatic denial by a shake of his head was given and he looked like was going to cry. 

Beomgyu sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder to rub it. He always gave Sunghoon as much physical affection as possible since he had become the only person to be able to touch him without getting hurt after they bonded together. He had a theory that the boy could only not burn someone unless he was extremely connected to them. 

"Do you want me to look inside your brain and try and fix whatever is going on?" 

He hadn't done much mental/emotional work with his abilities outside of Taehyun, but it seemed to have good results. But he needed permission to access that part of his talents. 

Another shaking head. 

Everyone looked at him, extremely concerned. Sunghoon had never once acted like this. They were about to push further but a small cute looking boy shyly opened the door to the dining room. 

“Um, h-hi Ms. Weber said you were the others?”

He had the outfit that all of them wore. His hair was straight and black, his lips were glowing blue. 

They all met gazes around the table, Heeseung put his fork down and tapped the part of the table in front of Sunghoon.

“Was he in the meadow memory?”

A slow nod.

Heeseung breathed in through his nose and stood up to pull the chair next to him out for the boy.

“Yeah, you can sit next to me.”

“O-okay.”

The boy quietly sat on his chair, cross-legged and looked around.

“Um, I don't remember anything. Are we all friends or something? Brothers?”

“No. None of us know anything apart from Sung.”

“What? Okay, I’m Acht? I think?”

“No your not, that’s just eight in German. Sunghoon might know your real name but he isn’t talking right now for some reason.”

“Oh.... well what are your names then?”

“Beomgyu.”

“Ni-ki.”

“Taehyun.”

“Heeseung... Soobin and Hyuka are up in the room.”

“And your Sungho-”

Number eight’s eyes glow bright blue as he met Sunghoon’s and he gasped. 

“Did that really happen?” he asked 

The other stood confused at him.

“In the pyramid?”

“He didn't say anything?”

“Yes, he did. He said that-”

Sunghoon then broke his silence with a shocked face.

“I actually thought that. I never said it out loud.”

“W-what?”

Taehyun’s arm folded on the table and his head hit them with a groan.

“Y’all he can read minds we are actually done for.”

“Oh, God.”

Whines filled the table and everyone desperately tried to not think of anything embarrassing. 

Number eight’a eyes grew blue again and he began to laugh.

“Did you really do that to Taehyun?”

“Get out my head!” complained Heeseung, face bright red. “We swore to never talk about that!”

“My bad.” the boy giggled cutely and looked at Beomgyu, paling. “Why did you do that to him?”

“Who? What?”

“The boy, you made him forget.”

“Listen... I didn't have a choice.”

“But he forgot his boyfriend.”

“Huh?”

“He was thinking about saving his brother and boyfriend in his sleep and you made the memory of them disappear.” 

Beomgyu looked down in guilt. He didn't want the others to know what he did, he already felt bad about it and he didn't want to be further judged by them.

“Gyu?”

“Okay, Ms. Weber made me cut someone's memory path... It’s not like I wanted to do it though!”

“Dude he’s probably a number then! You literally made him forget shit for Dr. Nopek’s stupid gain.”

“I said I didn't want to!”

Sunghoon butted in, feeling panicked.

“What did he look like? Did he have brown hair?”

“Yes? It was shaved though. And he had a burn on his-”

“Neck. His neck, and his stomach and side. Some on his shoulder’s too?”

“Yeah actually, how did you-”

Sunghoon abruptly stood up from the table, and the sound of his chair scraping the floor hit everyone's ears. He grabbed Beomgyu’s shirt collar and yanked him up from beside him. Thick smoke buzzed out his ears and his metal bracelet beeped loudly, it began to turn shiny and mirror-like. Heeseung hissed and his body glowing green, wind flew around the room, picking his body up to float as all he could see was thousands of his reflection

“Ow! Hoon that hurts!” 

Sunghoon could no longer see Beomgyu in Color and his touch burned the fabric of his shirt. He blended in with the rest of his red vision. The boy’s feet dangled as he was lifted up by his shirt, and everyone stood up and tried to pull Sunghoon of him.

“Sunghoon get off him!”

“Stop!”

“Let him go!”

“You did what to Jake?!”

“I didn't do anything! You are burning me!” 

“Bullshit! Jake has those exact burns and he has a brother and boyfriend just like him! You wiped his memories of me!”

“I-i didn't know! Just let me go!”

The metal device burned his entire arm and neck in a screech of a beep and he yelled, dropping Beomgyu back down and sending Heeseung back into his original state, panting.

Everyone scrambled and split up between the two. 

Heeseung stayed on the floor, green glowing fading away. He knew that what just happened was not good. If Beomgyu had really wiped Jake’s memories, they’d have a lot to deal with moving forward.


	11. Chapter 11

Things among the numbers had been had been tense since number eight arrive.

“Will you two PLEASE shut up?”

“We aren’t even talking!”

“But you're thinking loud!”

“And you think we can control that?”

“Just- agh!” Number eight whined and covered his ears. 

Heeseung, who had basically been Sunghoon, Beomgyu, Soobin, and Eight/acht’s mother for two weeks, was fed up.

“Can you just make up already? Beomgyu obviously didn’t know it was Jake and you’re annoying the living hell out of all of us, and physically hurting Soobin and Acht.”

“It’s not my fault the kid zaps into my brain every three seconds!”

“And it’s not my fault he’s being unreasonable.”

The rest of the numbers groaned, soobin laying down and smushing a pillow onto over his head to block out the ugly sound waves of the two fightings again, and Acht’s eye that were glowing twitched, letting out a holler.

“Holy crap! JUST SHUT UP!”

“WE AREN’T SAYING ANYTHING.” 

“YES, YOU ARE!”

Heeseung rolled his eyes and held a hand up to silence them. 

“Literally I will actually become your parent and start confiscating your books and stealing your food at meals if you four don’t stop fighting.”

“They are the three making my ears bleed! I am not involved in this!” Defended Soobin.

A banging sound filled the room and everyone looked around to see Ni-ki hitting himself with a pillow.

“Ki? You good?”

“Can’t we just go back to being friends again?” He whined. “It makes everything worse.” 

It sounded like he had been practicing the phrase over in his head for weeks as it was in almost perfect Korean. 

Sunghoon scoffed and stood up off his mattress, walking away to the door. 

“I’m not an idiot!” Gasped Acht. 

“Stop with the mind-reading thing, will you?! It’s possibly the most aggravating thing that’s happened in this place.” He ranted before slamming the door behind him. 

Heeseung rubbed his forehead. He was started to miss when it was just him and the mansion and he was constantly lonely. 

“Do you really feel that way?” Whispered acht.

The male inhales, trying to not get mad at his abilities. 

“No bud, I’m just stressed out okay.”

Everyone turned to him. 

“Who are you talking to?”

“Acht, he asked me something.”

“No... I thought that.”

“Huh?”

Everyone paused. Confused. 

“How did YOU read someone's mind?”

“I don’t know...”

“Not fair that’s my ability.” 

“It’s not like I meant to. It just happened.”

Acht rubbed his head. 

“Wait what actually is your power?”

“I don’t really know still, it involves mirrors, and I can reflect Sung’s fire back onto him with that metal thing he wears all the time.”

Beomgyu then clapped and hopped up.

“A-ha! You just reflected his mind-reading back onto him!”

“Is that even possible?”

“It must be unless you just randomly picked up new abilities.”

“Hmmm... okay fair enough.”

“Does that mean you can reflect any of us?”

“Probably? I don’t know.”

Everyone shrugged and went back to what they had been doing, most were reading or making small conversations. Ni-ki stared out the window like usual, he liked looking out at the trees below their room. Acht tried to ignore everyone's thoughts as he usually did, but it didn’t work well. He heard words of books, Japanese phrases, and random words about reflections and Clatterboxes. 

“Hey guys, do you think I can give myself a name since fireball doesn’t know it?”

“Well yeah, that’s what some of us did.”

“Okay.... how bout daisy?”

“Dude that’s lame.”

“Eli?”

“Weird.”

“Mark?”

“Doesn’t suit you.”

“Sunoo?

“....sounds good.”

Acht smiled and ruffled his hair at the new name. It was cute and he was hearing thoughts all around him about how it was suiting to his face and personality. He was very adorable and soft on the outside, but very feisty and sassy when he started to talk. He felt proud at how he came up with something they all liked.

“By the way... how many numbers are there? Do we know?”

“Um, twelve I think. That’s what Sunghoon said, and there are twelve rooms in the bunker so...”

“Bunker? 

“Yeah, we’ll probably go there soon.”

Kai remembers his first time in the bunker. He was up against Sunghoon in a battle in the middle of a town down the city in an unknown period given to them. Water vs fire isn’t exactly the best combo and Sunghoon ended up drenched and pissed at the amount of water that had been splashed on him. 

“What do you do in it?”

“Uh battle each other mostly. But sometimes we talk and just hang out if Dr. Nopek isn’t there.”

“Dr. Nopek?”

“Oh just some weird dude, you’ll see him soon too.”

Sunoo pouted and whined.

“This is so stupid! Why do I have to be number eight! I literally hate being the only one that doesn’t know anything.”

“Well number nine will probably come s-“

Soobin who had been the last to speak had been cut off by sparkly light coming through the door, and a rosy smell seeping in. All the numbers inhaled and felt intoxicated by it, completely forgetting what they had been talking about. 

The doorknob twisted and a beautiful pink-haired boy stepped in, a white- eye behind him. His eyes was seafoam green just like Aphrodite/Ms. Buaer’s had been when she revealed herself. 

“Holy hot guy I am suddenly attracted to guys.” Whispered Heeseung.

The boy at the door smirked and walked towards the male that spoke. His stride was so elegant and entrancing, almost sensual. 

“You’re pretty cute yourself.” He teased, hand at his ear, rubbing it. 

Heeseung gulped and side-eyed Taehyun who had been sitting on his bed, like a cry for help but he was too busy looking at the male as well.

The pink-haired smiled and moved to the side at the eyes and ran a finger down Taehyun’s face, whose mouth was hanging open. Then he went to Soobin and brushed a hand over his shoulder, making him shiver and giggle. Next, he went to Ni-ki who was completely hypnotized, mumbling a nervous greeting in Japanese. The boy just laughed and kissed the young boy’s cheek making him blush. He then crouched in front of Kai and caressed the scales on his cheekbones.

“Pretty.” He cooed. 

And Sunoo visibly paled as he heard flirty compliments about his dimples in the boy's head.

Lastly, the new number whose long pink hair had been pulled into a tiny ponytail went to Beomgyu. He stopped and his flirtatious smile dropped.

“Do I know you?” He asked, pushed one of his hairs behind his ear, examining his face.

Beomgyu couldn’t stop looking at him, but he fumbled with the ring on his finger and pulled it off. 

“I-I think we are married?”

“I think I would have remembered marrying someone so cute though?”

“Y-yea- I- u-um. W-well you s-see.”

“Awh baby is nervous.” He spoke, holding his face and dragging a thumb across his bottom lip. 

He then saw a ring against his own finger that matched and he gasped.

“How did that get here?”

“I- well we- are memories- they are gone?”

“Hmmm... I guess so.” The other thought, realizing he didn’t know anything about himself.

“Well, then dear Husband what’s your name?”

“B-beomgyu. And you are Yeonjun.”

“Cute.... okay so which one of you cuties are going to explain to me why I am in a nasty old mansion with hundreds of ugly white-eyed woman?”

“Well first of all you are a demi-god. And it definitely makes sense that it's to Aphrodite now that we have finally met you.”

“Are you flirting with me?” He smirked at Heeseung.

“N-no! You just- you’re really pretty so it just makes sense? Like you obviously take after your mom.”

“I was just playing with you.” He winked.

Sunoo suddenly turned to beat red and covered his ears. 

“His thoughts! Oh my god, I need holy water!”

The numbers proceeded to laugh and spend at least a good three to four hours trying to ignore Yeonjun’s flirting and tell him everything they knew. 

Beomgyu wanted to lean forward and touch him, but he felt really shy in his presence. He was Baffled at how he was somehow married to the prettiest person he had ever met that was so smooth in words and body language. The boy was so feminine and confident and it just blew his mind. He wanted to know how they ended up together back before they forgot everything, sice it was so shocking. 

“Hey, Gyu-gyu.” Whispered Yeonjun at night.

“Hmm?” 

“Since we’re married does that mean I can cuddle you?”

“Uh, s-sure if you want.”

Yeonjun smiled happily and climbed onto his mattress, he put an arm around his side and hugged it with his head on his chest, snuggling in like they had known each other for years, which they probably had. 

His strong rose scent clouded his mind and his sparkly skin glowed in the moonlight coming out the window. He felt at home for the first time since coming to the mansion, he leaned down and inhaled deeply, becoming drunk at the peachy smell from his supposed Husband’s hair. His body was so warm and comforting. Suddenly the mansion didn’t feel that bad anymore. He knew he was deeply in love with the newest number, despite barely knowing anything about him. 

The pink hair against his chest was soft and silky, more than anyone’s he has ever seen. And his cheeks were dusted pink, eyes foxy and alluring. Beomgyu took his hand that was against his side and pulled it to his lips, leaving a small kiss of adoration. 

“I missed you.” He mumbled, making the other smile and sink further into his touch, melting at his words.

“I think I missed you too cutie.”


	12. Chapter 12

Yeonjun had been completely fine with the mansion, up until he had to leave everyone. He still hadn't met Sunghoon as he left in the middle of the night, being pulled off Beomgyu's chest, leaving him cold and confused. Several white-eyes ushered him to an old car and blindfolded him. He felt the car swerve and run over rocks on the road every few seconds. He grew uneasy and like something bad was about to happen. He just wanted to go back to sleep under the warmth of the blanket he had been sharing with Beomgyu. 

After thirty minutes the vehicle had stopped, fingers undid his blindfold and the silky material left his face. Hands grabbed him and he was lead into the doors of an extremely fancy building, guarded by men in suits with weird symbols on them. He kept eye contact with them, because they stared him down, following him into the building. Behind the doors was a marble room with a large chandelier hovering over a table of men. 

"Hmm, you weren't lying about his beauty Dr. Nopek.'' spoke a man who seemed to have authority, with a small mustache. 

"Yes. He's also the most interesting number. He uses his abilities naturally, and he has no willpower when it comes to them... show them Nuen.'

Yeonjun recognized 'nuen' as what the white-eyes called him. And he was all for compliments, but the words that left the man's mouth made him feel insecure and small. They felt wrong.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He mumbled, shuffling his weight from one foot to the others, avoiding the gazes of all the piercing looks of the figures at the table. it felt like they all were trying to undress him with his eyes, and he wished he could cover himself with more clothing. 

Gasps filled the room and everyone looked zoned out at the sound of his voice. The room started to fill with the scent of flowers and all the men's pupils dilated. 

"You don't even have to my lovely. You've already done it.'' Said the man that was referred to as Dr. Nopek. "Now we've made a deal with these gentlemen, and you'll have to follow it"

Yeonjun felt his stomach twist. He didn't know what he was talking about, but it sent him in flight or flight mode. His skin raised with goosebumps, and his heart rate increased breath catching.

"You may all go get what you are promised now," he spoke cheerfully. 

The pink-haired boy felt fear fall deep into him as chairs scratched the shiny floor and men in a variety of shapes and sizes walked him into the corner of the fancy room. Hands touched at his hair and face, along with his stomach and clothing. Sinful compliments and slurs made their way into his head. But as much as Yeonjun wanted to stop something churned within him and took over his body, making him lean into the touches against his will.

"So obedient aren't we?”

"S-stop" he pleaded, while his hands moved to touch the men like they had a mind of their own.

"Actions say otherwise darling.'

His body would dance along with whatever movements they showed him, he’d tell himself to stop but it’s like his mind and body were disconnected. His body’s actions were sensual and into whatever the men did, but his words and head just wanted it to stop, asking and telling them to stop. 

When it was all over Yeonjun was brought back to the mansion and the numbers' room. He felt a burning in his chest as he quietly played down next to Beomgyu and silently cried at how his arms wrapped around him in his sleep, pulling him into his body. 

How could Yeonjun move forward after he let them all touch and speak to his life that, and even went along with it due to whatever screw abilities he had? Especially since he was supposedly married. He felt guilty at how he had already forgotten Beomgyu, and at how the male didn't know of how he did the things he did, and how he probably already messed everything up for them even though they just barely met in a way. He felt too bad to face him forward, so he turned around and looked at the lined mattresses with boys on top of them.

He couldn't sleep. So when the hinges of the door opened an hour before the sun rose, his head shot up, thinking that he was going to be taken again. He met the face of a boy with black hair and pale skin, he was handsome and had metal running along his arm and shoulder, and around his neck. He had little ice crystals against his skin and he looked like he was shocked to his core over something. He had dragged his feet to the bed on the side of him and he laid down in exhaustion with his back turned towards him. Yeonjun abruptly stopped his silent crying and wanted to talk to him, but he waited till he tosses and turned within his blankets, eyes widening at the sight of him and Beomgyu wrapped up against each other. He assumed he must be the boy who had left in a fit of annoyance before he arrived. 

''Yeonjun?" he mouthed in surprise. 

The spoken of nodded, tears slipping out of his eyes again, shaking in his forgotten spouse's hold. Sunghoon looked confused, and he sat up, propping himself on a hand below his pillow. 

Yeonjun didn't say anything, except cry harder, making him kick off his sheets and sit in front of him, going to reach out to him but stopping at the reminder in his head that he wasn't allowed to touch people without hurting them. He opened his mouth and closed it again, not knowing what to do. Honestly, nothing that he could have said would have helped anyway, as he sealed his eyes shut and let out a broken sob that was filled with emotion. Beomgyu stirred and so did some of the others near them, he held him closer and started to wake up as he got louder. Within seconds everyone in the room had woken, startled at seeing the boy who had been charming, flirtatious, confident, and happy when he first came to them now crying in what seemed to be a state of pure pain. 

"Jun- Jun what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Asked Beomgyu, who was now leaning over him. 

Yeonjun just whimpered and held his hand tightly with a pained and fast shaking head, not wanting to say.

"Hold up," whispered Sunoo, getting up, Heeesung close by. 

He used cute air motions to get Sunghoon to scoot over and he took his place sitting in front of him. 

"Yeonjun, open your eyes.”

He whined and denied not wanted to see everyone. But after minutes of pleading from the numbers, he finally did, causing Sunoo's to flash blue. The younger gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth in horror.

"What? What is it? What did he think?”

He didn't answer, he just pushed Beomgyu's hands off his lover and hugged him tightly.

“Sunoo what did you hear?”

"Shhhhh! I'm sorry Yeonjun.” The boy spoke. 

Yeonjun gasped in a fight of air against his panic."I just let them do it!"

"No, you didn't want it... they just were taking advantage of your powers."

"Huh? Sunoo what do mean?"

He sat up and looked at the sad and worried eyes of Beomgyu and Heeseung. Yeonjun’s lip quivering, looking up between them.

Sunoco didn't want to expose what had happened, since he heard his thought himself and he knew how embarrassed and ashamed he felt. So he just sighed.

"Yeonjun? Can he help fix it? He can heal the mental pain with his abilities for a little bit."

"Y-yes, please. Please anything."

Beomgyu looked up at Heeseung, who seemed equally if not more concerned than he was. But the difference was that the fifth number's heart felt clambered down and nailed against a wall seeing Yeonjun in this state. 

He put his hands on the pink hair and scanned his brain. He immediately found extreme emotional pain bunched together in a certain section and he made it dissolve away as much as he could. Yeonjun stopped crying and calmed, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

Beomgyu then began to cough and pinch his nose at how much blood had started to rush out of it. He tipped his head back and cursed. His nose always bled when healing someone, but it had never been this much. Even when he helped Taehyun after a visit to the Necropolis. Iron liquid taste hit his tongue and he cringed. 

"Gyu? Did I? I'm sorry."

"No it's fine, it's fine. It's just blood. You feel better now right?" He voiced, standing up to try and find something to hold over his nose. 

"Yea but- that's a lot of-"

"Crying. Yeah, you almost passed out, that's why he did it. And he obviously cares about you a lot so don't worry about it." 

Beomgyu turned, meeting Sunghoon's orbs, raising an eyebrow. He breathed in and smiled a little. 

"Guy... I'm sorry about the Jake thing. I know you didn't have a choice, but I just- I was being stupid. Can we back to being friends again? I miss you.”

"Of course."

"Finally!" Shouted Ni-ki, who dramatically flopped back down onto his mattress. "Now let a kid sleep."

More annoyed Japanese words left his tongue and Beomgyu wiped the last bit of blood off his nose. 

"Where did you go earlier?”

"The cooler."

"In the middle of the night? They only ever take us to examination in the mornings."

"Yeah, I know... I needed to think through."

"...in the...cooler?

"Yes... turns out I have ice powers too."

Taehyun put a hand up from his bed, thinking he heard wrong.

"Honey, you are a whole fire, what are you talking about?"

"Well- I started a blizzard in the middle of the hallway?”

“You what?”

“I mean you can go see for yourself it’s probably still there.”

Everyone except for Ni-ki, who was already fast asleep again, walked behind Sunghoon as he led them out the room.

Footsteps echoed down the twists of the silent mansion in the night. It looked creepier in the middle of the night. Tiny red eyes were found glowing in random places. But they ignored them as there so nerve-racking. The hallways began to grow colder the further they went and went finally stepping off the last step to the floor fourth floor, everyone gasped. 

The corridor was filled lined with ice from the floor to the walls. Small snowflakes fell from clouds on the ceiling, Sunghoon smiled and held his hands out. 

“See? I told ya!”

“Okay, but how do we know you did it?”

The pale boy smirked and stepped onto the ice, slamming his foot down and his shoes lifted and they turned into crystal snow ice skates. He zoomed to the center of the hallway and spun in circles.

“I- “

“How is he not falling on his ass?”

Sunghoon laughed with the biggest smile any of them had ever seen him wear, he skated around and then jump, twirling before he landed again.

“Turns out I can figure skate. When I left I hit my head and got a memory of Jake and me at a rink and it sparked something in me... and this happened.” 

“Ice and fire... cool”

Sunghoon vision then broke, he saw all the numbers in colour as he fried teaching them to skate. And he could touch them without burning their skin. They’d be okay.


	13. Chapter 13

****Mirror Dimension, 2061****

Heeseung was tired of his life as royalty. His father wanted him to marry someone from the Japanese kingdom, but he hated the idea of marrying someone he didn't live with and didn't know. He sat on the edge of his balcony railing, looking down at the mirrored roads hundreds of feet below him. Mirror beings were extremely powerful and just happened to be immortal until they decided to pass on to the time dimension, which had to be approved by the Galatic federation. So what he was doing was extremely dangerous, but it was all he could do to avoid his arranged marriage later in the evening. He wore a shimmery suit decorated with a green necklace and he knew it might kill him. 

His father said he was lucky for being born a prince in such a high-ranking dimension, but he wanted to be human and away from him. So he had been planning his escape for weeks. He had to travel to different dimensions in secret with the help of a boy from the federation. His name was Jungwon and he worked in a controversial field that helped beings under the control of the limits of their dimensions to escape. He warned him that no mirror being had even tried to become human before, and it could most likely cause terrible things to happen if it failed, but he didn't care. He drank the weird green liquid in the futuristic jar he had been given and tossed it before he took his last breath and jumped.

He came hurtling through the sky and he tried his very best to not use any of his species traits to stop himself. But seconds before he hit the ground he panicked and did possibly the worse reflective shield he had ever made. Booms and crashes of buildings and hit his ears, screams of citizens cried and the building where you travelled through dimensions lit up in flames and came crashing down on him. The very matter of the mirror dimension ripped and zapped.

*****Seoul, 1985*****

Taehyun was walking down the dark streets of his home city, coming back from the job he worked when he heard zaps and static sounds coming from the ally a few feet ahead. He heard screams and cry for help and he ran to help whoever was in trouble.

In front of him was a hole in the very fabric of his reality. Behind it was a neon blue lake filled with skulls and people trying to claw their way out. He yelled and tried to run back out the ally but the hole expanded and pulled him in. None of his friends or family heard from him again. They finally held a funeral for him when it hit the year mark of him being missing.

****Ancient Egypt, 2490 BC*****

Sunghoon remembers being sucked in through the vortex within the walls of his high school in the year 2061 and crashing into a sandy desert. The people living in it thought he was a god because of how different he looked from them. They build him a pyramid and decorated him with riches, which angered their actual Gods. They met with him and he ended up being tricked by one after he promised to send him home, but they never did. He just woke up with fire and ice powers that he had no control over the next morning, none of his worshipers could touch him anymore and they all shunned him as he nearly burned down their city and froze all their crops, causing a famine.

*****Sound dimension, 1923*****

A pretty woman screamed as her ears rang, she could only see some of her surroundings. She felt half real and half not, she just prayed her unborn baby wouldn't be affected by her state. She'd been like it ever since cold electricity washed over her two weeks ago. She was impossible to reach mentally and her Husband thought she was dying. 

******Ancient Greece, 2050 BC*****

Yeonjun and Beomgyu stood at the altar and kissed to seal their marriage. God's and goddesses cheered congratulated them. 

"Thank you for letting me Marry your son," Beomgyu whispered in joy, hugging Aphrodite.

"Call me Mom dear."

He smiled and turned back to his now-husband. His white robes and golden accessories shown against his skin, he felt like the luckiest person on the planet. He had never felt so happy, and he was excited to spend the rest of his life with the boy. He had spent nearly and entirety trying to get the hot to like him back he had finally accomplished it. 

The feeling cut short though. The ground of Mouth Olympus shook and crumbled, wind circled around them and a giant hole opened up underneath the couple, they fell through and rolled onto the ground of an unfamiliar place. 

****Japan, 1960*****

Ni-ki enjoyed hiking and nature, he was climbing up the side of a mountain covered in a thick forest when the ground began to glitch below his feet. Vines, flowers, and branches moved in pixels and his legs and hands began to go as well. The pixels overlapped and he felt the odd sensation of leaves growing into his skin. He yanked at the vines wrapping around his feet and cried, he couldn't go home looking like this, his family would disown him if he did. 

Ni-ki went into hiding. 

*****Jeju island, 2001*****

Huening Kai ran across the sand of the beach beside his house, he was running from a whirlpool forming in the sea waters that he was just in. Drops of water filled the air and enclosed his body, seeping into his lungs. He saw a scaley face of a woman in front of him. She sang to him underneath the salty water and her lips touched him, he felt air return to his lungs.

****Present-day, Unknown time****

Beomgyu sat on the metal of the floor in the Bunker. Everyone was still panting from their battles. Everyone's abilities were getting stronger and more advanced and it made things way more difficult. Battles were longer and more exhaustive. 

He rolled over and felt fabric against the back of his hand. He gazed over and saw Yeonjun sitting with a smile.

"That was fun." He giggled.

Heeseung huffed and slapped a hand over his eyes. 

"For you!"

"Yeah? You seemed to enjoy though yeah?"

The male gasped and pointed at Beomgyu.

"You keep your flirty husband under control!"

"It's just his personality."

"Personality my butt! You should have seen him in the battle!"

When the white glow of the spin clock appear on the ground for battle selection the hands landed on Heeseung and Yeonjun. 

Heeseung was glad since he was pretty sure whatever the other's abilities happened to be he could just reflect back onto him. Or he could just trap him in amirror if there was one in the scenery, which he learned he could do on his most recent trip to the relfectorium. But he underestimated the new number. Number one believe he had the upper advantage when they were placed in a city with shiny skyscrapers that reflected just like mirrors. But the smell of flowers hit him and his thoughts dazed over in a fog. Yeonjun giggled and walked towards him. 

"You'll let me win yeah?" He whispered into his ear slowly.

Heeseung's mind felt blank and all he could focus on was the sparkling of Yeonjun.

"Yes."

"Good." 

Then they plopped back down in the bunker and everyone began to question them on how short they had been gone, the clock hadn't even picked another duo yet.

"You mean to say he made you gay panic so hard that you just surrendered?"

"Dude! He like drugged my head or something! I forgot everything I was doing!"

"So like mind control?"

"Flirty mind control!"

Yeonjun flipped his hair and crossed his legs. 

"It's my specialty." 

Taehyun scoffed.

"You can't be that good."

"Really?" Yeonjun smirk, getting up. 

The familiar scent hit Heeseung and he watched as Taehyun's face dropped of emotion and he began to look hypnotized by the boy with pink hair.

Sunoo made a weird face as he started to speak, also watching "He doesn't even have thoughts anymore! They just poofed!"

Yeonjun held Taehyun's hand and spoke in a sweet voice.

"You'll let me eat your dinner tonight... right?"

"Uh-huh." 

Sunghoon laughed at Taehyun's face and hit Beomgyu's shoulder.

"Now we know how got you."

"Hey!"

Taehyun snapped out of it and glared up at Yeonjun who had a fake innocent smile on him.

"Yah! Go do that to your Husband, not me!"

"Oh, I don't need to do it to him."

"Huh?"

"He already does everything I tell him to." He winked at the fifth number. 

"Ooooooooo" 

"Get into it."

"Simp!"

"What's a simp?"

"I- wait I actually don't know."

Yeonjun chuckled and went back to the boy with who he had a matching ring with. He pushed his legs apart and sat down between them, grabbing his hands and pulling them around his waist, kissing his ring cutely. 

Heeseung watched and pouted. The two had been super clingy ever since he arrived. And yeah, he got it, they were married, but it made him feel lonely. He wanted someone to be with him like that. And he always had to hear about Jake and Sunghoon's relationship, or parts the parts if it that were remembered.

To top it off, he was unofficially the person who kept everyone together. He was the first so everyone looked up to him and he always had to act responsibly. He wanted a break to have childish fun like that others would sometimes have. Or have someone to lift off the stress from his shoulders. 

He watched as Beomgyu held Yeonjun's hands as they were brought back up to their room. They had such chemistry despite not remembering each other. He frowned, and Sunoo patted his shoulder as he was listening to he had been listening to his lonely rant for a while now. 

"Don't worry, you'll find someone okay?"

"Thanks, Sun."

"Mhm!"

When they reached the room a boy sat reading a book on his bed. 

"Who are you?"

"Oh um- the ladies said I'm Zehn."

The boy then zapped out of space and appeared in front of him, making everyone jump. He had little glowing stars that painted his cheeks, and he seemed familiar. He held the book he had been reading out in front of him. 

"Are you Heeseung? This whole mirror book this is cool."

"U-uh yeah."

"Oh alright.... where am I by the way?"


	14. Chapter 14

Zehn, better known as the next number was odd. He didn't have an examination room, and Instead of Sunghoon remembering his name, Heeseung did. 

"Hey, Jungwon can you hand me that?" He had asked in their room.

"Who's Jungwon?" Voiced almost everyone in the room."

"I- I don't know, I just called Zehn it without thinking."

"Oh okay, You okay with being called then the new guy?"

"Sure."

The new number glitched from the reality of his bed and appeared in front of the bookshelf, grabbing Heeseung's pencil, and glitching again to be in front of him. 

The boy rarely actually walked, and it was weird to the other numbers how he was basically teleported to and from so casually. And he and Heeseung talked like they knew each other all the time, despite him only being at the mansion for two a day. They automatically drifted to one another. The boy also had a near robotic tone of voice and a weird accent none of them recognized. The weirdest of all however was when Beomgyu couldn't heal him when he fell and hit his head.

"Ummm"

"What? What's wrong?"

"I don't think you are human...."

"What?"

"He looks human though."

"His bone structure and nerve paths don't."

Beomgyu had been researching every book he had on unique bodies since and he couldn't find anything. 

Everyone shook their head in disbelief as he glitched back onto his bed already in a sitting position.

Suddenly all the lights switched off and the room filled with thick black fog, all the numbers started to cough and wheeze. 

"What's going on?"

A figure covered completely in a dark silk hooded fabric raised from the floor. No one could see his face but his aura was frightening and powerful.

A demonic voice filled the room and the boys flinched and jumped back as it sounded like it was surrounding them at every angle.

"The shadows want you Zehn."

Red cat eyes of the shadows started to blink all around them and Jungwon shook his head, not caring that all of them only looked at him.

"W-why me?"

"You must help them."

The figure rushed forward in a glide and its face became so close to Jungwon that he now was the only one who could see it.

It showed a boy whose eyes were closed like he was sleeping, and he had hair just like Taehyun's, shaved but growing back. His lips were dry and his cheeks were hollowed out. He didn't see any evil on it, it was peaceful and innocent, but the black ombré hands that clutched the collar of his shirt were. It's like the boy was being used by an entity that wasn't him and it scared him to his core. His body glitched and the two flew into the grounds of the mansion.

The smoke cleared in the room and eyes blinked off. The numbers let out a few more coughs and looked around.

"Where did he go?"

The speaker in corner of the room started to beep and let out German words only Soobin could comprehend. Then the colour washed off his face and he met Taehyun's neon eyes.

"The Mansion is morphing into his examination area and all the white-eyes have to stay on guard and stick to the plan. They said to be careful and be prepared for anything." He said. 

“What do they mean the mansion is morphing?”

As soon as the last word left his mouth the floor shook and booms were heard outside of the door that started to rattle. Flashes of lights in different colours seeped from the crack between the frame and the floor. Screaming and growls of the shadows sounded and Soobin covered his ears at the sound waves.

"Was that guy the shadow thing everyone keeps talking about?" Yelled Yeonjun over the loud noises, holding onto the nearest person for stability from the shaking floor.

"No! They aren't human!" Sunghoon rolled on the floor after being knocked over by the room swerving out of place and everyone hollered as they got tossed around.

"What the hell is happening out there!" 

Ni-ki shook while trying to stand and clenched his body, sending vines around the room to stabilize it.

"Freeze them!"

"What?"

"I said to freeze them Todorki!

"Who is To-"

"FREEZE THEM."

Sunghoon nodded frantically at the sudden outburst of the young Japanese number and slammed a fist against the floor, crystals of snow and ice rushed against the vines, locking them in and the floor stopped shaking.

Even stood silent, looking at each other. The room was cold and their sheets were frozen against some of their clothes.

"Too much?" 

"Yeah, just a tad." 

In the distance, they heard yells and shouts, swirls and fizzles, and many indescribable noises. 

Behind the door, Jungwoon was running down the changing hallways being chased by the hooded boy. Everywhere he looked flashed different and the floor was pixel-like and ripping and falling. He felt like a character in virtual reality game and the code was changing every three seconds. 

"What did I do!?!?" He screamed over his shoulder at the boy.

Demonic noises came out of the figure and he shrieked and it flew towards him. He was knocked to the spinning ground and caged in by the person. The hood fell and he saw hand-marked scar burns across his neck and a black vein on his hands. He was horrified and felt paralyzed as he leaned into his neck like he was going to bite it.

Out of reflex, he glitched when his lips hit his skin sending them both flying across the hall. The figure's head hit the wall on impact and his sleeping eyes flew open, they were all black. His body arched and his neck tipped back.

"Sunghoon!" Pained out his throat in a voice that wasn't being used by the shadows and collapsed back down. 

The mansion turned back to normal and white-eyes fled the corridor, they pulled them apart and injected a serum into the boy. 

"So sorry dear, that wasn't supposed to happen. Forget what he said."

"Wh-"

He abruptly found himself back in his room now covered in veins and ice. Somehow being forced to glitch in.

"W-what was that?"

"What was what?"

"The shaking, the lights, the crashes and screams, how about the death scream of my name two seconds ago?

"Oh um, the mansion was like glitching? Like how I do, and the boy like hit his head and like seized out your name?" 

"What do you mean?"

"Well I don't know he like got all weird and suddenly woke up, then boom he said it."

"Woke up?"

"Yeah, he was asleep."

"What did he look like?"

"Normal? He just looked like a regular boy apart from the weird thing I assume was possessing him."

"Possessing?"

"Mhm, it was as if he couldn't control what he was doing. And the white-eyes told me to forget what he said we he woke up. Which was only your name so-"

"Just normal? Like no disguising aspects of him?"

"He did have weird scars now that I think about it. Like in handprints on his neck."

Jungwon hadn't been filled in yet. But everyone else knew and stared at him and Sunghoon in complete horror.

"Jake?!??"

"Who's J-"

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT MY BOYFRIEND IS BEING POSSESSED BY A SHADOW?"

Sunghoon looked furious and sprung up, turning the door nob and making it fly open in flames, metal arm piece beeping and Heeseung glowing green. 

"Boyfriend?!? Where are y-"

"Where is he?!"

"Who?"

"The guy that called me name!"

"Um- he was in the hallway to the left-"

Sunghoon ran out the door, sprinting as fast as he could. His legs hurt and he could feel his heartbeat across his entire body.

He halted as he saw white-eyes picked up the figure.

"I thought you said Fünf cut his memory path?"

"He did! He must be fighting it."

"We must stop it." 

The white-eyes spoke in hushed tones and Sunghoon felt his heart crush against his ribs, the metal piece blared louder than it had ever before and he ice zapped the entire room, trapping the white-eyes into their stances. He could hear Heeseung screaming back in the room but he only cared about the frail boy falling to the floor. 

His neck burned in frostbite against the metal and he calmed down to go to him. His entire body shook and he sobbed, pulling the boy's head into his lap.

"Jake." He whispered, tears falling against him.

He touched the burn scars on his neck and he hugged his shoulders against his legs. 

"Jake, what did they do to you." 

He was pale and skinny, his hair from his memories cut short, and his fingers cracking and fading black. He hadn’t seen him in so long, and it only had been in memories. Actually being in front of him felt so different. He missed him so much.

He kissed all over his face and then a growl came out of the throat below him. Harsh fingers dug against his neck and his body was lifted up. He pried at them and stared in fear at the all-black eyes of his lover who was making him dangle in the air by his throat. 

"S-stop!!" He pleaded, the grip on his vocal cords tightening. "J-ja-ke it's me!"

He snarled and he went close to his face. Sunghoon's vision started turning black and he whimpered against the crushing and bruising feeling on his throat.

"Hey dumb dumb!" 

A daisy aroma made Jake loosen his hold slightly and turn his head, face dazing out on Yeonjun. Who was smiling prettily? 

“Put him down won’t you?”

A clanking noise echoed across the room and Heeseung held a book up by his ear in the air in a defensive manner, watching the male he hit in the head fall to the ground, releasing Sunghoon.

The third number started to let choked cough out and rubbed his throat his face was colourful and veins were sticking out his forehead. He gagged and rotated his body to Jake's body on the floor.

"What did you do?!" He yelled in a scratchy voice.

"He was about to kill you!!"

"That doesn't mean you whack him with a book about Nazi radios!"

"Yes, it does!"

He went to go to jake again, but everyone held him back.

"Let me see him what are you doing?!?"

"I don't think that's jake inside him right now."

"Right you are Ein." 

Dr. Nopek appeared in front of them and knocked on the ice covering the white-eyes.

"I must say that this is rather impressive, but it isn't part of the plan."

"Hell to the plan!"

"Eh eh eh the plan will save you young one. And you have disobeyed it so much that you must be punished."

The man snapped his fingers and all the ice melted and he ordered white-eyes to grab Sunghoon. The others watched as he was taken away.

He's been gone for three weeks now.


	15. Chapter 15

“Beomgyu get down!”

“No, you don’t understand!”

“Yes, we do! And we forgive you for it, just please don’t jump!”

“You didn’t see his face though! He looked terrified! Of me! Of what I was going to do to him!”

Beomgyu was hysteric as he held onto the side of the window to their room, looking down at the ground hundreds of feet below him. He couldn’t breathe.

“You didn’t have a choice!”

“I did!”

“They would have just kept pressing the button and you know that! They wouldn’t have let you out of there!”

“They gave me two options, and I chose to hurt him!”

Sun felt bile trying to reach his throat, and his stomach burned to get rid of it when he heard what Beomgyu was thinking. Only he knew what he was so upset over now, he hadn’t thought of it before, but now that he finally did he hated every last inch of the mansion and atom that made up Dr. Nopek and his ugly old women that followed him around. He knew everything that had happened to them already was cruel and inhuman, but this was just messed up on so many levels. 

“And don’t you dare tell him Sunoo, or I’m throwing myself right out this window.” He pointed angrily “You keep your freaky mind-stuff out of this.”

“What? What does he mean?”

“Y-yeo-”

“I said don’t!”

“They said he-“

Beomgyu started to put a foot out the window again and everyone yelled, jumping forward.

“Fine, I won’t! Just stop!”

He slowly put his foot back and looked at him in suspicion. He wanted to keep this a secret. He’d take it to his death bed in hopes everyone wouldn’t know, especially Yeonjun. And he was hoping that would be soon if only they would leave him alone long enough for it to happen. 

He had been taking to the medical room, as usual, expecting the same-old-same-old. But he was wrong. Sunghoon was in the corner being held by four huge strongly built men wearing protective gear, he hadn’t seen him since the incident in the hallway where Dr. Nopek ordered the White-eyes to take him away. for “disobeying the plan”. Within the week of him being gone his entire body had been covered in dark bruises, eyes were swollen and his lip busted up. The metal around his arm and neck was rusted and the skin around it was blistered, swollen, and cracked. He didn’t know how he got to this state but he did know that Heeseung had been having fits of glowing green in response to Sunghoon’s metal being activated somewhere within the mansion countless times, so much that he kept getting stress “cracks” against his face. 

“Hoon! What did they do to you?”

“Please don’t do it! Don’t do it Gyu! Please don’t listen-“

Sunghoon shot up and cried out as the men holding him kicked his leg and he crumbled down, still being held up. One shoved his head down his by his neck and started to yell at him. 

“We said to be a quiet freak!”

Sunghoon whimpered and weakly looked up with his swollen bruises eyes and shook his head, pleading Beomgyu. 

“Why are you hurting him!”

“Calm down, he’ll live.” Spat the white eyes that had transferred him to the room.

“Why is here? What is he talking about-“

“Cut his path.”

“W-what? No-“

“Do it, or the button. He is starting to remember too much.”

“Then press the button! I’m not doing it.”

The lady scoffed and lifted her wrist, showing a silver bracelet with green buttons and wires sticking out of it. A large purple button was in the very center. It wasn’t the same one that everyone was used to, 

“You won’t be saying that again.”

“Wh-“

Beomgyu then fell to the floor, he felt his organs and bones move around inside him and blood started to seep out of his pores with the post-awful sounding scream that ever left the mouth of anyone in the mansion during their time in it. 

It stopped as soon as it started and Sunghon thrashed around, yelling behind the hands of the men that were clamped over his mouth. 

“Okay Fünf, that was level one. Next time you get to level two. Cut his path.”

Long story short, he reached level ten and they gave up, then came Dr. Nopek. He made a clicking sound with his tongue as he squatted down in front of his body that was a bend in every which direction. 

“You gave two options here Fünf. Cut his path and he starts all over again, and all your pain goes away and you’re skeletal system will be back to its original state.” He said calmly. “And then there is option two. Which I find you’ll not like very much.”

The man whispered his next words into his ear, so only here could hear. He spoke to him for five minutes straight, telling him of the horror that was option two. Pure fear like he had never experienced before made him shake his head and start to cry violently, immediately agreeing to option one when he finished.

The white eyes clicked a different button and every ache and drop-off blood disappeared. Beomgyu stood up, trembling the entire way to Sunghoon.

The boy yelled and cried, held back by men, kicking his feet. His eyes showed complete desperation. 

“I’m sorry. But I have to.”

Beomgyu then raised his hand and cut his path. Sunghoon eye’s turned into confusion and he passed out into a sleeping state.”

Now on the window’s edge, he was ready to take his own life for what he did.

“Baby please, don’t leave. We need you here. I need you here!”Cried Yeonjun, trying to grab his hand, but he jerked it back. 

“No, you don’t! You are safer without me, I promise. I know things you don’t.”

“Then tell me! Tell me what happened! Just come back down and huge as you always do, okay? We’re going to find a way out of here and it will all be better!”

“STOP! We aren’t! There is no way out except for this stupid window! We’ve been trying to find a way out for months and nothing! Just ask Heeseung, how long has he been here huh?”

“This isn’t about me! This is about you, get the hell off!”

“You have no room to talk! I know been well you think about doing this every day, I’ve seen your brain!”

“And?! I promise you most of us feel it too, it sucks here! Who would want to live after everything that's happened to us? And that’s why we can’t let you go! We need to stick together!”

“Beomgyu please... we love you. Just come on down.”

Beomgyu cracked and started to sob again, stepping off the window and onto the floor and everyone let out a breath of relief. Yeonjun ran to him and hugged him in a bone-crushing hold. 

“Never do that again, I was so scared.” He wailed into his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry.” He cried back, holding the back of his shirt tightly. 

Sunoo stood beside the two, also crying, crying for Beomgyu. 

“It’s okay Gyu. I would have done the same thing. It’s okay, we understand. You didn’t want him to get hurt so you did the only thing you could. Sunghoon would agree.” 

“What is he talking about? Hurt who?”

Beomgyu cried harder at remembering option number two, knees buckling and sinking down, Yeonjun going with him. 

“Honey calm down, you’re okay. We’re all okay. Who would have hurt?”

“Y-you!”

Everything went silent. Yeonjun widened his eyes, looking at everyone else as he cradled Beomgyu’s head on his chest, and rubbed his back. 

“You. He’d hurt you. I couldn’t.”

“What do you mean you’d hurt me? You could never.”

“I c-could! So could they! So could everyone!” 

Beomgyu breathing was so heavy and fast that his thoughts weren’t making sense anymore to Sunoo. They only were broken pleads for air. 

“Breath! You need to breathe!” He shouted, shaking his side while he was still being held by Yeonjun.”

“I can’t!”

The door then swung open and a bruised Sunghoon clambered around. 

“Who are you!?”

Beomgyu went completely limp at his entrance and his head flopped back. Making everyone panic. 

Yeonjun lightly hit his face and chest. 

“Wake up! Beomgyu c’mon wakes up.”

“Who are you!?” Shouted Sunghoon again. 

“Can’t you see we are a little busy!!!” Yeonjun angrily turned to him. 

The boy jumped back with his hand up. 

“I just- I remember anything. And the ladies- their eyes- and I have bruises everywhere-“

Heeseung patted Yeonjun back. Once again assuming the leadership position again.

“He’s fine. He won’t be flipping out anymore. See he’s breathing normally.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, look, his chest is still moving.”

Yeonjun smiled, relief climbed over him as Heeseung sat down beside Sunghoon

“I’m Heeseung.” 

Sunghoon hesitantly shook his hand and the other flinched at the hot skin but ignored it for his sake.

“You’re Sunghoon. The angry and pretty one is Yeonjun, the kid with the vines is Ni-ki, ears are Soobjn, neon eyes is Taehyun, scaled fish boy is Kai, starry cheeks is Jungwon, blue lips is Sunno, and guy passed out on the floor is Beomgyu. We’re all friends.”

“Oh.... why is everyone so weird looking?”

“We have abilities. Seeing the dead, reading minds, all of it. And physical stuff that comes with them. You have ice and fire powers, pretty cool isn’t it?”

“I... guess.”

“Do you know someone by Jake by any chance?”

“No, not that I know of.”

“That’s whats I was afraid of.... but anyways we will fill you in on everything later okay? Just take a nap and Beomgyu will heal you whenever he is up and calm.”

“...okay, which is mine?” He said, pointing at the mattresses.”

“Third one from the left.”

Sunghoon felt sad eyes on him as he walked to the bed and laid down under the covers. He felt like hadn’t slept in weeks though so it was okay. 

Heeseung rubbed his knees, tired of always being the one to calm everyone down. He didn’t even want to be alive but he had some many people leaning on him for support, it felt crushing. He loved every one, but he was close to reaching his breaking point. 

The boy with stary cheeks left the scene that was a passed-out Beomgyu and sat where Sunghoon had been moments before, sighing and bringing his head to his shoulder and taking his arms around his body so he was snuggled against him. Heeseung felt warm as he was made to hug the number and he let out a breath of stress out, melting into Jungwon. 

He had been noticing his stress every since he came. His eyes were always so tired and dark. 

“You are really strong Seung. Make sure to a break every once and a while too, okay?”

“Okay.” 

Heeseung held onto him like a little kid and felt a little better with the hand rubbing up and down his shoulder to his elbow.

Jungwon calmed his mind.


	16. Chapter 16

Ni-ki had discovered the majority of his powers. But he never said anything. All the numbers were close to each other except for him. He also had been remembering things but not knowing how to bring it up, he didn't want to end up as Sunghoon did. He believed it was smart to keep his memories to himself so he could work through why they were there without having to worry about being punished. Even Sunoo didn't know, all his thought were in Japanese so it blocked him from reading them.

Ni-ki had hit his head going down the stairs too fast, slipping. He must have done it hard enough or just in the right spot, but whatever happened he remembered something big. 

Japan, 1960

"I've lived through the timeline at least a thousand times, nothing ever changes. You all die." Spoke a blonde boy to Ni-ki in Japanese.

"There has to be a way right? Maybe you missed something?"

"I've already thought of everything! They will take you at exactly 7:28 pm on Tuesday, cut your memory path and you'll be back at the mansion all over again."

"You'll be at the mansion though, so you can help me remember."

"Ni-ki, no, that's not how it works. I lose my memories too, all eleven of us do." 

"...maybe you can change it before it happens."

"How would I do that? I've been stuck in this time loop for like nine hundred years now." 

Ni-ki sipped at his tea and messed with one of the vines on his leg. 

"Have we had this conversation before?"

"Yes."

"Say something you haven't the last times then."

"You always say that, and no matter what I say, it ends up the same." 

"Tell me how we died. You haven't done that yet, right?"

"No.... you all killed each other, you went so mad within the mansion that everyone started to blow up in fits of their powers, one by one, and every time someone would die because of it. The white eyes turned us on each other. Yeonjun literally kills Beomgyu every time it loops. And then I'm the last one left, again."

"They are married though!"

"They didn't remember that!"

"...and it was only the eleven of us?"

"Yeah."

"Then get someone else to come. Who could keep everyone calm? Who's good at that you know?"

"Heeseung, but he is already there every time."

"You don't know anyone else?"

"Well... there is one. He lives in the forties with two of the numbers. Two that you haven't met before.... but it wouldn't work."

"Why wouldn't it work?"

"He doesn't have abilities. He wouldn't be able to come into the mansion."

"Then find a way to give him abilities."

"How?"

"I don't know you're the one that's been in the mansion so many times, there has to be way."

"Well- no, I can't do that."

"Do what?"

"... Dr. Nopek was always looking for someone for the shadows to use, but- I can't do that to him. Something bad could happen, worse than us killing each other. And it would end the loop so we wouldn't be able to fix it."

"It's not like there is another way."

"He dies before the time of the mansion anyway, so it doesn't matter." 

"Then stop it, you literally can time travel, Jay. Get someone who can help you but will remember what's happening while you can't."

Jay gasped and stood up, laughing in pure euphoria "Ni-ki I love you, you are a genius. I'll see you when I get to the mansion, but right now I have to take a trip to Ancient Greece and meet with someone who maybe can solve all this." 

"Okay?"

Present-day, unknown location

There were originally only eleven numbers, he knew that. He knew Jay was a number and had gotten Aphrodite involved in this run of whatever "loop" he was trapped in to make Jake a number in the plan he had sparked within him. 

He just didn't know what number Jay was for a while. But when Jungwon arrived as ten, he knew he'd be next since everyone was aware that Jake became twelve. He'd been anxiously awaiting his arrival. He was aware he wasn't supposed to tell anyone the memory because then whatever Jay was trying to do before he lost his memory would be ruined and they might end up killing each other again. He'd know about this along with a few other memories since Sunoo came. He thought he was going nuts at first, but he started to believe the idea of all the numbers murdering each other wasn't too far-fetched, after all, Sunghoon had almost killed Beomgyu and Sunoo multiple times when the mind reader first got to the mansion.

The door to the bunker opened in a screech of metal against metal. All numbers looked up, they had been talking to Sunghoon about everything that he'd forgotten (minus Jake, it was obviously safer if he didn't know). A blond boy in the oh-so-familiar outfit walked in casually, he had a bright indigo dot in the center of his forehead and he wore a miniature version of Sunghoon's bracelet on his leg.

"Tell Ni-ki I know he remembers this time. I do too." Ran into Sunoo's head, he knew it was the new boy but he was really confused. 

"I remember everything, just use your abilities. You can have conversations through people's minds, the white-eyes can't hear you when you do. You are the only one who can get us out."

Sun pretended like he didn't hear, wiping any suprised off his face, and sitting still, closing his eyes so no one would see them turn blue as he attempted to let Ni-ki now. 

The young boy jumped and looked around, Sunoo's voiced echoed across his skull. He made eye contact with the new number and Sunoo momentarily and subtly nodded. 

"I'm going to pretend I don't know where I am now, tell the others what's happening as fast as you can. Let them know that I have a plan and my name is jay, but tell them to "come up" with a name for me so nothing is suspected." 

Everyone stilled at words entering their heads. It was loud and started with "No one react, the white-eyes will know! This is Sunoo!" Before he explained the rest. 

"Where am I?" Acted Jay, everyone playing along, feeling excited that they had hope again.

"The mansion."

"None of us remember anything."

"Who am I then? Do you know?"

"Uhhhh... how about we call you Jongseong?"

"Okay... can you tell me why I are here?"

The act went on for three hours, Sunoo delivering messages through Jay the entire time. No one suspected anything. 

Jay had been working with the Greek Patheon, especially Aphrodite for a year now, planning everything out. When the Goddess was appearing as Ms. Bauer she had been the one to cut his memory path, which she only pretended to do. Leaving Jay with his memories. 

Him and Ni-ki we're close before the mansion, friends since the older had got yanked out of his dimension and stuck in some awful loop. The loop would start at the dimensions ripping in Seoul, then it would end at everyone dying. The numbers were shocked to hear it, but all carefully kept their feelings hidden as they knew they were being watched. 

Jay knew Taehyun had met Jake back when he went missing from the mansion. As he was the one that came up with the idea in the first place. He understood (from sunoo telling him) that Jake had almost killed Sunghoon when he saw him via strangling in the hallway, so they were keeping their relationship from him until they knew it was completely safe for them. And he learned that a few weeks back Beomgyu almost threw himself out a window over making him lose his memories. He mentioned "option two" and that was the only moment that Jay had broken his act of being clueless as to where and who he was. Every other time he had been in the loop "option two" hadn't even been an option in the first place. Yeonjun and Beomgyu had to live through what it was every time. It was different now and that is what was good. They had a chance of breaking the loop now.

Loop #367, the mansion

Yeonjun came back again from the thing he hated the most. Beomgyu coming minutes later. Every day the pink-haired boy would come back looking awful and sit as far as he could from the other, hating the sight of him. Beomgyu would plead for forgiveness for hours until the others got him to quiet down. He felt awful because Yeonjun despised him for something he was forced to do. He had no control over his actions but he still understood why Yeonjun's flinched every time he came near him. And why he would cry at night in sleep. It was his fault.

Present-day, loop #869, unknown location

All the numbers had been walking back to their room when Yeonjun stopped Beomgyu, letting them fall behind so he could talk to him.

"Are you ever going to tell me what option two was?"

Beomgyu's face fell and shook his head, guilty for something he hadn't even done.

"Gyu please, I want to know why it's upsetting you so much."

"He... he said they put some device in me and it would control me, they would make me hurt you, touch you in ways you didn't want for the shadows amusement. And he said that he'd make me bring you to those men that hurt you when you first got here again... and some other things- I don't even want to say."

"Beom-"

"I wouldn't let them, I couldn't do that to you." He mumbled. 

Yeonjun cupped his face and brought it up. 

"Stop beating yourself up over something you didn't even do. I love you.

"You love me?"

Yeonjun nodded and giggled cutely. 

"Yea, hun we are married remember?"

"Do you only love me because of that?"

"Beomgyu no no, I love you because you are you, not because someone told us we are legally in a relationship. I could care less about that, fuck the rings. I'd love you even if you were married to someone else."

"Really?"

"Yes, cutie."

"I love you too."

The two then kissed for the first time since forgetting each other. Forgetting all the awful events revolving around shadows or medical rooms. Yeonjun broke their touch and took off Beomgyu's ring.

"Hey, I still want that!"

"Shhh"

Yeonjun knelt on one knee in front of him and held up the ring he took.

"Marry me again? So I can remember it this time?"


End file.
